Accidental Transportation
by Forest Elfin
Summary: COMP A girl blows up her school science lab and ends up sending her friends to middle earth
1. CHAPTER ONE : ACCIDENT

CHAPTER ONE - ACCIDENT  
  
Biology is a pretty good subject once you get past the amount of words you have to learn. You would hope that the teachers would have a good understanding of these words, know them through and through since they comprise the very backbone of biology. Unfortunately Mr Brae can't even remember what he had for breakfast, let alone something he studied in university when he was still in his *youth*. Therefore, we have not learned anything this term in his lessons and on that note, we join our characters.  
  
Chrissie sits absently twirling a pen on the table, humming the tune of something nobody's ever heard of, getting very angry when the pen falls to the floor from lack of concentration.  
  
Fred (The Oracle) sits pondering life's more troublesome questions next to her, frequently looking at her watch constantly.  
  
Kelly sits on the next seat up, slightly bopping to a tune only she can hear and listening to the voices suggest ideas for her next Fanfic.  
  
Fred gets up to go to the bin and throw away that menacing bit of wax from her table, but just before she can get back, Kelly shouts: "What is Gil-Galad in the common tongue?"  
  
Fred does a little star-jump bounce and says in complete happiness, "Starlight."  
  
Mr Brae finally arrives in the classroom, absently scratching his head looking whilst thinking where his glasses are. He picks them out of his pocket and begins the lesson.  
  
*** "So you see class." He said, rocking backwards and forwards slightly. "This molecule is clearly a hydrocarbon called.well I'm not entirely sure. I will look it up and tell you next lesson."  
  
"My arse." Kelly whispers to no one in particular.  
  
"So since this.molecule is a hydrocarbon, what is it useful for?"  
  
The class sits in silence and stares back at him. Mr Brae stares at the ceiling for a moment, then begins talking about photosynthesis.  
  
"So what is the name of the chemical that promotes photosynthesis?"  
  
The entire class remains blank. This was supposed to be a lesson on enzymes. Mr Brae spies an unfinished experiment in the corner of the room and thinks of it as an escape. Instantly, what has been a light drizzle for the last hour mutates into a torrential downpour, thunder and lightning attached. Fred and Kelly turn and glare at Chrissie.  
  
"What? I didn't do anything." Chrissie said innocently. Fred smiled and nodded. Chrissie had been known to bring on rain storms when she was pissed off.  
  
Mr Brae brought the half finished experiment onto the table and gestured for the class to gather round. They came reluctantly and stood at a cautious distance.  
  
"It seems as if someone has been making fireworks. Is there anyone that would like to finish the experiment?"  
  
Kelly's hand shoots in the air. Mr Brae looks cautiously around the room for anyone else. Last time Kelly had done an experiment she'd taken the top off a table. Reluctantly he gestured for her to begin.  
  
"Now just one spoonful of this powder in the conical flask will, when added to ammonia cause a violent reaction. Go ahead, Kelly."  
  
Kelly spooned a large tablespoon in and as Mr Brae turned to fetch the ammonia from the gas cupboard, poured in about half the pot. Chrissie and Fred took three large steps back.  
  
Mr Brae poured a healthy amount of ammonia into a beaker and offered it to Kelly. She took it gladly and tipped it in straight away. At first nothing seemed to happen, then a massive explosion rocked the science lab. When the smoke cleared, what was left of the class got out from under the tables and brushed the ash and dirt from their clothes. Mr Brae looked around the room. There seemed to be several members of the class missing. Obviously not realising which ones, he shook his head and dismissed the class. He needed a whiskey.  
  
***  
  
Fred got up and began brushing off her clothes. She was gonna kill Kelly when she saw her. She reached absently for her work behind her, but when she looked there was nothing but a tree stump. She turned around slowly, taking in her surroundings. She was in a forest, a really dense scary forest actually. A twig snapped to her right and she jumped, her hand raising to her heart and spun around towards it. There was nothing there.  
  
She walked towards the noise and something sticky touched her right arm. Thinking it was a bug or something, she swatted it with her left arm; unfortunately for her, that was no bug. Her other arm became to stuck to it. It was a giant spider web and she seemed to be caught in it. Another twig snapped, on her other side this time. Something snapped into place in her mind. Spiders, forest, webs = Mirkwood.  
  
"Hey," She shouted up to the sky. "No fair, I haven't even read the hobbit!"  
  
***  
  
Chrissie sat up and rubbed her head, her fingers automatically reaching to brush her fringe from her eyes. Kelly was so dead. She looked around her. This wasn't Mr Brae's classroom, hell this didn't even look like Wiltshire. Trees bent in around her and she almost jumped out of her skin when she spied a stone troll sat behind her. If she didn't know better, she'd say this was.but that was impossible. Kelly may blown up most of the classroom, but how could she blow her all the way to.Middle Earth? But, she was stuck here, in Middle Earth.  
  
"Wow! This is so great! All I've got to do now is find Frodo and everything will be absolutely perfect." If she ever met Kelly again, which she probably wouldn't (and that was a good thing to her thinking), she swore to buy her a drink.  
  
Chrissie had a quick look around her and was just heading out when she heard loud hooves galloping behind her. A black figure swung it's arm around her waist before she'd even blinked and hoisted her into the saddle behind it. The figure was wearing a long black cloak and seemed to have no face. *Shit"* Chrissie thought. Getting captured by a Ringwraith was not the best start in her quest to marry Frodo.  
  
*** Kelly yawned and opened her eyes. After nearly blowing up the science lab, she'd retreated under what felt like a table. She'd stayed there for a while, thinking that Chrissie and Fred would probably be after her blood. It being dark and her being tired, she didn't resist the sleepiness that took over her. Nobody seemed to be kicking her out of wherever she was, so it seemed to be a perfect opportunity to catch a nap. If this still happened to be Mr Brae's lesson, well, he stunk as teacher anyway.  
  
She looked around her and didn't argue with what her eyes told her. She was in Middle Earth. In fact, she was in Mordor. Of all the stinking places in Middle Earth to appear in, she had to end up in the one place that was only metres from the most feared adversary of the free peoples of Middle Earth in millennia. Although it may have been impossible for her to be in Middle Earth, the impossible frequently happened around Kelly, so she had come to accept it.  
  
Playing one of her favourite games, the stalking game, she picked what looked like an intelligent orc and began following it. She tried to blend into the scenery, hoping against hope that all those hours of stalking people in town had been useful for something.  
  
"YOU! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"  
  
Kelly froze and tried to make herself very small as she heard pounding footsteps behind her. 


	2. CHAPTER TWO : PROGRESS

CHAPTER TWO - PROGRESS  
  
The rider rode through the trees, following the sounds of screaming. He had been searching for the Ringbearer for six days now and if he had been taken by the enemy, there was no hope left for the free peoples. He slowed his horse into a clove of birch and peered through the gap. A Ringwraith sat on horseback in a nearby clearing, holding someone dressed in strange attire by the ankles and rattling them, as if something of value might fall out. This certainly must be the Ringbearer if the Ringwraith had caught him. The rider notched an arrow and released, sending an arrow of light into the centre of darkness.  
  
Chrissie felt extremely undignified. She had tried telling the Ringwraith that she didn't have the ring, but it didn't seem to believe her. She had tried to slap the Ringwraith into letting her go, that failed had tried the volume of screams, but he still seemed unaffected. Finally she tried her last resort, the pom poms. Hanging from the cords of the hood of her coat, were two round balls of fluff known the normal population as pom poms and she used them frequently to bat unsuspecting people. She tried this with the Ringwraith but the cord seemed to be too short. Damn. She didn't even have the ring.  
  
The Ringwraith yelled in pain and dropped her painfully on the floor. Chrissie scrambled to her feet and backed into a corner, hoping that she would just wake up somewhere near Frodo, in a nice safe place.  
  
She felt a hand on her shoulder, cool and calm. She opened her eyes and looked up into the eyes of an elf. ***  
  
Another twig snapped behind Fred and she jumped again. She'd tried twisting and squirming, but nothing seemed to be able to get her free of this web. She was going to kill Kelly for getting her into this mess.  
  
"Would you like some help mi'lady?" A voice said from behind her. She tried to twist to see who it was, but only succeeded in getting herself stuck even further. She nodded hopefully, wondering if perhaps David Boreanaz could be all the way in Mirkwood by any chance.  
  
The figure behind began cutting away her bonds, until after several minutes she fell flat on the floor. She brushed off her clothes and stood up, wondering who her rescuer was. She looked around to find him sat on a nearby log, trying to peel sticky web from his blade. It stuck firm.  
  
The figure was obviously an elf, who looked remarkably familiar to someone she really should remember. The figure stood up and held out his hand.  
  
"I am Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood. May I ask the name of the Lady I rescued?"  
  
"You don't look anything like Orlando.No of course you're Legolas. My name's Fred. Are you going to Rivendell yet?"  
  
Legolas frowned. "No.I have no reason to go the house of Elrond. I am needed here."  
  
Fred looked around the clearing. The forest seemed to close in around her. Luckily, Legolas noticed her distress.  
  
"I am heading back to my father's palace, if you would like to accompany me."  
  
"Yes," Fred said. "That will be great."  
  
***  
  
Kelly froze. Heavy footsteps approached from behind her and she tried to blend into the wall. The footsteps sounded right behind her and a bead of sweat ran down her forehead. However, the footsteps carried on right past her. Kelly let out a breath and followed the second set of footsteps around the corner. Why oh why didn't I learn the black speech, she thought as the two orcs began conversing. She could only make out a couple of words; ring, half-ling, Saruman, orcs. She searched out the area and cross-referenced it with her encyclopaedia of Lord of the Rings knowledge in her mind. Frodo and Sam had dressed up as orcs to pass through Mordor, perhaps she could do the same to get out.  
  
She choose a large sized orc and followed it around a boulder. She hoped the eye was looking elsewhere and walloped it around the head with a nearby rock. She donned the scabby armour and helmet, and feeling very self- conscious, she walked back into the open. Kelly saw a long line of orcs marching across the path and joined in towards the back.  
  
They moved at a fast pace and were out of the gate in no time. Feeling pleased with herself, she started to relax. Arrows began zooming in from the surrounding hills and she looked up quick enough to catch sight of black cloaked figures with long bows. Damn, she thought. I'm in the middle of a fight, and I'm on the wrong flipping side.  
  
*** Chrissie swung up behind Glorfindel and hung onto him tightly.  
  
"We will be in Rivendell in several hours mi'lady. You will be safe there."  
  
"My name is Chrissie."  
  
"Yes, mi'lady." Glorfindel replied quickly. The Ringbearer should be treated with utmost respect and courtesy.  
  
"My name is not mi'lady." Chrissie said, her fists starting to tighten. Why were elves so damned annoying?  
  
"Yes, mi'lady."  
  
"So that means you can stop calling me mi'lday."  
  
"Yes.sorry.Christae."  
  
Chrissie frowned. Well, at least his strange pronunciation of her name was better than mi'lady. She leaned back into the thrall of the horse and let her thoughts drift. Was she the only one here from Earth or had her entire class been transported here? She rather hoped for the former, then she could have Frodo all to herself. But who would she talk to? She wondered where Fred was, still in Mr Brae's lesson, or somewhere in Middle Earth?  
  
***  
  
Galadriel looked up from her mirror. Yesterday the future had been as clear and simple as glass. The Ringbearer would destroy the ring of power and Middle Earth would be saved. Now everything was clouded and there was the inclusion of new characters, strange people with names that did not make sense. How would these new comers affect the future of Middle Earth? Where had they come from and would they ever go back? The mirror began to clear in one corner and Galadriel leaned closer. Something had just changed for the better of Middle Earth. 


	3. CHAPTER THREE : JOURNEYS

CHAPTER THREE - JOURNEYS  
  
Mrs Warmsly looked suspiciously from one student to the next. She had been investigating where four students had disappeared to, but no one seemed to be giving them up. That made her mad.  
  
"I will fight in your corner and stand up for you to the hilt, but if you lie to me, I will make your life a misery. Am I understood?"  
  
The gathered students nodded, not bringing their faces above eye level, frightened of meeting her evil eye gaze.  
  
"So where are they? You all insist they entered the classroom, but you also all say they never left it. They are not still in the classroom, so that means some of you are lying!"  
  
The remainder of Mr Brae's class tried to shrink back into the wall. There was no escape.  
  
*** Fred was tired. She'd been walking all day and she hadn't seen anything that might suggest they were any closer to wherever it was they were going. Legolas kept a wary distance from her, rarely speaking to her. She wondered if he had known Gil-Galad, her favourite elf.  
  
"Did you know Gil-Galad?" Fred said to him, hoping for any kind of conversation to break the silence.  
  
"Yes. He was a great warrior and king. How do you know of him; He died many lives of men ago."  
  
Fred didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell him the truth, that Kelly had drilled her in Lord of the Rings trivia every single day for the past year, and that this world was the fantasy creation of a long dead man.  
  
"I have heard.many stories of him." There now, that wasn't quite a lie.  
  
Legolas nodded. "Yes there are many that sing of Gil-Galad." He paused, listening to something she couldn't hear. "Get down." He whispered.  
  
Fred stared at him, uncomprehending. "What?" She asked. He flew at her, knocking her to the floor, just as an arrow sped through the air above her head.  
  
"Come on." He said, taking her hand and treading silently through the trees. This time Fred followed obediently.  
  
***  
  
Kelly ducked underneath another arrow as it flew towards her head. There were maybe twenty orcs in the parade and as a group of hooded warriors left their cover and ran towards the orcs, Kelly drew her sword and plunged it into the closest orc. She threw down her helmet, hoping that perhaps the troop would recognise she wasn't an orc. She used the confusion of the orcs to her advantage by cleaving off their heads and stabbing them quickly in the chest. Thankfully, the cloaked figures didn't attack her, recognising her as a temporary ally. When the last figure dropped, Kelly found herself surrounded by the hooded figures. The leader stepped forward and dropped his hood. It was Faramir.  
  
Faramir looked at the stranger. Whoever it was, was cleary not an orc, or an experienced warrior by the style of her fighting. The very fact that this stranger was female surprised him to no end.  
  
"Who are you, and what business do you have in the Lord Denethor's Land?"  
  
Kelly straightened. "I was captured by a group of orcs and brought to Mordor. I stole some of their armour and passed as one of them to escape. I am only crossing through this land on my way home." Kelly smiled to herself, glad that writing so much fiction had enabled her to think up lies on the spot. "My name is Kelly." Damn, he didn't seem to be buying it.  
  
Faramir continued to stare at her unbelievable story. How had a girl escaped Mordor on her own? She was definitely lying. He signalled to one of the figures behind her and the figure grasped her round the waist.  
  
"I am no enemy, Faramir." She let the figure bind her wrists, there was no way that she could attempt to kill the man that was going to help Frodo in a couple of months time. The figure behind her tightened the binding and she couldn't help but wince.  
  
"I know about the dreams, Faramir. I know your brother had them to, and I know he's left for Imladris." She said in desperation, hoping against hope that perhaps he might let her go.  
  
Faramir stared at her. Only he, Boromir and his father Denethor knew about the dreams that had driven his brother to search for Imladris.  
  
"You have just confirmed your fate." He paused. She must definitely be in league with the enemy to know such things. He turned to his men.  
  
"We return with this spy of Mordor to Minas Tirith." The men cheered. It had been many weeks since they had been home.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie was beginning to feel sea-sick. She knew she wasn't on a boat, but this horse seemed to have the same forward-backward roll as a ferry on tormented seas.  
  
"Are we nearly there yet?"  
  
"Yes mi'la.I mean Chrissie. You can see the rim of the valley of Rivendell now."  
  
Chrissie stared in the direction that he was pointing. In the fading light she could only see a group of trees in front of a black chasm; that must be it.  
  
She was asleep by the time they arrived at Rivendell and was carried up to a room by several elves. Gandalf looked at her and turned to Elrond.  
  
"That is not the Ringbearer." He said quietly.  
  
"I know."  
  
"What shall we do with her?"  
  
"The Last Homely House is open to all who desire it's sanctuary. We will let her sleep and perhaps find out more about her in the morning."  
  
Gandalf nodded. Glorfindel had already left Rivendell again, appalled that he should have brought back the wrong Ringbearer. Gandalf hoped Frodo was alright.  
  
*** Chrissie awoke to find Elrond sat in a chair facing her. This was so surreal.  
  
"It is good to see you are awake." He was itching to ask her about herself, but it seemed terribly rude. Seeming to sense this, Chrissie began.  
  
"My name is Chrissie. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing here. Since it's now morning I think I'm supposed to be doing Psychology. I'm going to kill Kelly when I find her."  
  
Elrond looked at her puzzled. He had considered himself well versed in lore, yet he had no idea what 'psychology' was and who Kelly was.  
  
"Have you seen anybody else who seems out of place here?" Chrissie asked, wondering if any of her classmates had found their way to Rivendell.  
  
Elrond paused. How could he phrase this tactfully. "We have seen no one else bearing the symbols of your clan." He said, indicating the cords with fluff on the end.  
  
Chrissie looked down. "Oh, you mean these. These are only pom poms. I use them for whacking people."  
  
Elrond looked puzzled again. This was strange weaponry indeed. He smiled and nodded politely. Chrissie pulled herself out of bed and looked out of the window, seeing the timeless feel of Rivendell. She could be happy here, she realised.  
  
"Have you found Frodo, yet?" She asked Elrond, turning around. "No, we have not found the ring bearer yet." Elrond's face was beginning to protest at his constant frowning, so he decided to excuse himself.  
  
"If you will excuse me, milady, I believe I should get back to the search."  
  
"Oh, go ahead. See you later." She said, turning back to the window.  
  
Elrond slipped out before he could frown again at her choice of language.  
  
************  
  
Daydream : Yes they are in big trouble. Although Fred's actually in Mirkwood (check out the revised c1 for a better description). Constructive-Reviewer : Kelly really is just plain stupid 99% of the time. The other 1% accounts for her actually still being alive.  
  
Zecorda : Well I couldn't think of anyone else for Fred to meet in Mirkwood, and as you will see in later chapters, it needed to be Legolas really.  
  
Chrissie : This ladies and gentlemen is actually one of the real characters from my story. And yes you do scream like that and I am very proud of my observations (ha ha ha how did I manage to get them). Hope you like your continuing adventures. 


	4. CHAPTER FOUR : QUESTIONS

CHAPTER FOUR - QUESTIONS  
  
Fred was annoyed. Legolas had insisted they keep moving to ensure that their mysterious enemy didn't catch up with them, and her boots were beginning to rub at her ankles.  
  
"How much further is it?" She asked, hoping for answer in minutes.  
  
"We will be there about tomorrow noon. We should make camp soon."  
  
Fred scowled. She'd only slept outside in nice secure tents before now, definitely not in a forest filled with killer spiders, bugs and a stranger that was no where near as cute as Orlando Bloom. Legolas stopped in a small clearing and looked upwards. Seeming pleased, he scooted up one of the trees. Fred looked at the high branches, swaying slightly in the wind.  
  
"Oh, no. I'm not going up there."  
  
"If you stay down there, you are more vulnerable to the occupants of this forest."  
  
Fred thought about the feel of bugs crawling all over her skin and shivered.  
  
"All right then. But not too high."  
  
She climbed up slowly, completely not amused by this whole *adventure*. Why couldn't see just be at home, in a nice warm bed, watching Lord of the Rings on DVD? That would be so much better.  
  
Legolas settled for several branches way too high for Fred's liking. She was sure she would fall off before the end of the night.  
  
"Do not worry, she will not let us fall. She enjoys our company."  
  
Fred smiled. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought he was talking about the tree.  
  
***  
  
Mrs Warmsly glared at the two men in front of her.  
  
"No I do not know anything about the disappearance of the students, for the four hundredth time."  
  
Agent Smith raised an eyebrow to Agent Jones, although since they looked remarkably alike, it was difficult to tell which was which .  
  
Mrs Warmsly looked from one to the other. They'd been bullying her for the past hour to no avail and she still hadn't worked out which one was which. They were supposed to be from Scotland Yard, but she had her doubts. They both wore tight black suits with stiff collars and hid their eyes behind large black sun glasses. They seemed to remind her terribly of some sci-fi film she'd seen a couple of years ago, but the memory eluded her.  
  
Since the disappearance of 'them kids' as she had taken to calling them, strange things had been happening around the school. When she saw them kids she was going to kill them.  
  
***  
  
Several hundred miles away, Kelly was getting pissed off as well. She had successfully escaped the stronghold of the Dark Lord Sauron, then conveniently convinced Faramir she was a spy. She dreaded to think what Denethor would think of her, dressed in green combats and a sweat shirt covered by orc-made armour and blood still dropping from her sword.  
  
It seemed very surreal that she'd actually fought a real battle. She had killed people and enjoyed the adrenaline rush that came with it. It was such a bigger high than jumping out a plane.  
  
Camp had been pitiful. She'd been tied to a tree and left alone with a beaker of water. Sleep had claimed her eventually after she'd realised she couldn't reach her lucky penknife in her front pocket. Some luck it brought her.  
  
And now they were walking again and although she usually enjoyed walking, walking with your hands bound and tied to someone who walked about twenty miles an hour was not fun. Yells echoed through out the men. She wondered briefly if they were being attacked, then realised what was going on. They had just caught sight of Minas Tirith in the distance. Damn.  
  
Escape was not really much of an option; she was surrounded by at least twenty-five armed and trained warriors and she had no weapons herself, except her penknife that she couldn't even reach. Escape would be even harder even she was thrown into a dungeon, she reminded herself. Her muse suggested an idea, thinking of the Two Towers Movie. Doubt persisted to annoy her, but she straightened her resolve, she had no choice.  
  
For some time now they'd been walking along side of the river leading to Osgiliath, but luckily for her, the bank had turned into more of a cliff. She twisted on her rope and purposely fell over. The rope was jerked out of the man's hands in front of her, just as she'd anticipated. In the moment of confusion that followed she made a run from the edge of the cliff and looked over the edge.  
  
Her stomach came right up into her throat as she looked over the edge, it was at least several hundred feet to the river. This is no worse than a parachute jump she told herself.  
  
Faramir stopped mere feet behind her.  
  
"You'll never survive it." He said.  
  
"I know Denethor will never believe me. I can see it in your eyes that you don't trust me, even after I helped you take out those orcs. I am not some token that you can use to gain brownie points with your father over Boromir. I'd rather take my chances with the river than be locked in a cage." She told him as she turned her head.  
  
Several of Faramir's men moved up behind him, bows notched and aimed.  
  
"My men will shoot you before you leave the ledge."  
  
Kelly swallowed and tried to think positive thoughts. I am a stubborn person, she thought. People are always telling me that, so I'm gonna prove it to them now. She looked down into the rapids and then back at Faramir. She smiled. I can do this, she thought. I'm not scared of heights. Her stomach lurched in reply. Aragorn survived falling into a river from a cliff in the TTT movie. Ahh, but the voice said in her head, he had the blessing of the Valar behind him and also he's had years of practise.  
  
She took a last look back at the long bows.  
  
"Shoot me then." She said impulsively.  
  
Kelly jumped from the ledge.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie was plain bored. She'd paced up and down her room hundreds of times now and it was not soothing her nerves anymore. She'd been left alone all day now and she was restless. She would be in Chemistry now if she was home. She wondered what they were doing. She was going to kill Kelly when she next saw her.  
  
A knock sounded on the door and a pale face entered. Looking similar to Liv Tyler, it was obviously Arwen; but what was she doing here?  
  
"I thought you might like some company." Arwen said, sitting down on the bed.  
  
Chrissie frowned, she had a distinct hate of Arwen from the Lotr films, and she wondered if it showed.  
  
"Have they found Frodo yet?" She asked, anxious that she make use of her time in Middle Earth by meeting Frodo.  
  
"Not yet I don't think. Would you like to join me in the Hall of Fire? It's a lot more interesting." Arwen replied.  
  
"Am I allowed past the guard at my door?" Chrissie said sarcastically.  
  
Arwen frowned and nodded. Chrissie followed her out of the room, aware how dirty her clothes were compared to Arwen's.  
  
"I see why this wasn't in the film." She murmured to herself as they entered. The room had an atmosphere that was indescribable, a lightness of air that seemed to lighten her mood upon entering. Several other elves sat singing and gossiping around the room, but Arwen led her to a quiet corner of the room, fairly near a small hobbit looking remarkably like Bilbo.  
  
Chrissie became aware of the gaze of the other elves upon her and she self- consciously looked down at her jacket and trousers, both torn in several places now. She also realised that glasses probably weren't gonna be invented for another couple of ages.  
  
"What brings you to Rivendell?" Arwen asked her absently, her mind obviously elsewhere. She had that day-dreamy look on her that Chrissie often wore when she was thinking of Frodo.  
  
"He's alright you know." Chrissie answered.  
  
Arwen looked startled. "Who?"  
  
"Aragorn." Arwen blushed.  
  
"He's been away so long.I worry for him." She replied quietly.  
  
"He will be back soon." Chrissie smiled. Perhaps they did have some common ground. Here she was worrying about Frodo and Arwen of Aragorn, but then again, she already knew the outcome. She wondered if it was ethical to tell someone their future.  
  
"So, I'll try again. What brings you to Rivendell?" Arwen was firmly back in Middle Earth now.  
  
Chrissie paused. What should she tell her? Arwen was seriously growing on her, but could she tell her the truth?  
  
"I live very far away from here, hundreds of thousands of miles. I was brought here by accident, but I don't know if I can ever go back. Glorfindel rescued me from a Ringwraith just outside of Rivendell and brought me here. I honestly don't know what to do."  
  
Arwen smiled and laid her hand on Chrissie's. "My father and I will try to help you find your way home, Chrissie, but I ask you, do you really want to go home?"  
  
Chrissie hesitated. The answer obvious; of course she did. She missed her tv, her buffy videos and Lord of the Rings DVDs. She missed the Internet and in a strange way, even missed school. She'd only been gone just over twenty-four hours, but it seemed much longer. However, there were things that tied her here. Everything was so peaceful here, no Tony Blair and no annoying Harry Potter. There was also Frodo himself, the real thing in flesh and blood, not a printed word on the page.  
  
She asked herself the question again and found that she couldn't answer. Chrissie looked up to find Arwen watching her, a slight grin on her face.  
  
"I don't know. I honestly don't know."  
  
Arwen smiled.  
  
***  
  
Sorry Fred, I know you're not in this chapter but there's loads more of you to come!!  
  
Amlugwen: Grinning is always a good thing and more is on the way  
  
Chrissie: I'm very proud of my Mrs Warmsly impression, not quite sure why I remember it so vividly though.and it's my story so I'll make you scream like that. :P  
  
Cassie-bear01: Legolas isn't going to Rivendell yet because at the current bit in the story, Frodo hasn't even arrived in Rivendell, so the messengers haven't left to tell people to get their asses to Rivendell either. Anyway, I wanted Fred to be on her own. 


	5. CHAPTER FIVE : DECISIONS

CHAPTER FIVE - DECISIONS  
  
Fred felt stiff, very very stiff. Everything ached and she was dreading getting down from this tree. Legolas was already awake and digging in his small pack for something. Lembas. The sight of it made her stomach growl and when Legolas offered a tiny bit, she frowned. However, the bite was substantial enough to please her stomach temporarily. Legolas motioned for her to climb down and after gaining a few scrapes and bruises, she managed it.  
  
Legolas handed her a short knife.  
  
"Something is following us. Do not sheath this until we our inside my father's palace. We should be there in several hours."  
  
Fred's eyes widened at the thought of something attacking her and her knuckles began to turn white around the hilt of the knife. Legolas began a fast trot and Fred attempted to keep up. He dropped back slightly and put his arm around her waist, trying to draw her into a faster run.  
  
"It is gaining on us, Fred. We must make haste."  
  
"I cannot.run.any.faster." She puffed.  
  
"You must, Fred. Your life depends on it." Legolas tried to push her on further.  
  
"Too late." He whispered as a shadow leaped onto him from the trees.  
  
Fred watched in horror as an enormous orc wrestled with Legolas and even worse it seemed to be winning, using it's superior strength and weight to it's advantage. She had to do something, this elf would join the fellowship and protect Frodo soon. If he died today, Frodo could die. That was not an option!  
  
Feeling the determination flow through her, she crept near the brawl, picking up a large rock on the way. She slammed the rock down on the orc's heard as it tried to strangle Legolas.  
  
"Take that you evil, vile slug." She said as whacked the orc again and again.  
  
Eventually it seemed to lose consciousness and it's body became slack. Pleased that she had now set the course of Middle Earth's future back on track, she did a little dance. Remembering Legolas was stuck underneath the orc, she grabbed it by the foot and attempted to pull it off. After several tries, she managed to move it enough that Legolas could crawl out from underneath.  
  
Thoroughly invigorated now, she picked up the knife she'd dropped on the ground and skipped away in the direction they'd been running. Legolas looked after her in amazement. He hoped he never angered her enough for her to start on him.  
  
"Come on then, Legolas." Fred shouted from ahead. Legolas smiled to himself and started running towards her.  
  
*** When they met the first patrol around the edge of Thranduil's palace, Legolas conversed in elvish with them. Fred wished she'd paid more attention when Kelly had tried to teach her Elvish. Seeming content, the guards gestured them to carry on. They strolled in the noon sunlight and Fred breathed a sigh of relief when they finally saw Thranduil's palace amidst the treetops. Fred caught Legolas's arm.  
  
"I've changed my mind. I don't think I want to go in." Fred said to him, already thinking of the staring faces and accusing eyes.  
  
"Where else will you go?"  
  
"I don't know." She honestly didn't.  
  
"Will you be alright alone?" Legolas was asking would she be able to protect herself from any attackers that might mean her harm.  
  
Legolas walked on to a small stable and motioned for her to come inside.  
  
"I would like you to have these," he said, gesturing to a small satchel and clothes. Opening it up, the satchel contained packed Lembas, a few bottles of water, equipment to light a fire and a sketchy map of Middle Earth.  
  
"My father and I do not always get along, so I keep this here in case I wish to leave in a hurry. It would make me feel better if I knew you had them."  
  
Fred blushed and gladly took the satchel. Legolas gripped her hand tightly.  
  
"Good luck, nin mellon." He said to her and turned to leave.  
  
"Same to you, Legolas."  
  
Legolas disappeared.  
  
"Wait, Legolas?" She called out.  
  
He poked his head back around the door.  
  
"If you should ever meet anyone who seems kinda strangely dressed and out of place, will you tell them of me?"  
  
"Yes, I will. Namarie Fred."  
  
"Namarie."  
  
Fred looked at her map. Where in Middle Earth was she going to go?  
  
***  
  
Chrissie was genuinely starting to enjoy herself at Rivendell. Since arriving at Rivendell two nights ago, she'd been learning a tremendous lot. She'd heard Bilbo retell his finding of the ring at least twice and helped him write passages for his book. She'd listened to tales of the old world that the elves sang at night and explored the ancient grooves of trees that sheltered Rivendell.  
  
Although she was constantly annoyed at the lack of Elvish language she could understand, most of the time she could understand the feeling of what the particular elf was trying to get across. She no longer the clothes she'd worn in school, but a beautiful Elven tunic as a gift from Arwen. Everyone was so happy here and yet still she felt alone.  
  
***  
  
Kelly hurt all over. She knew she had jumped into the river just after they'd passed Cair Adros, but she wasn't sure how far down exactly she'd come. She could remember hitting the water, a feeling like a thousand cold knives stabbing into her skin at once. She could remember hitting objects as she fought to gain the surface. She'd latched onto some floating driftwood sometime and was now floating along a gentle current. Her body below the waist was numb, she wondered how much of it was left.  
  
She could no longer hear the cries of Faramir's men on the cliffs above her, yet she could still hear them in her mind. They had yelled when she had jumped, several loosing arrows at her as well. She had felt some pass by her, but couldn't remember being hit. She saw a small cove on her right, and desperately tried to paddle towards it with her numb legs. She started getting resistance and realised it was her legs dragging on the river bed. Forcing a smile, she pulled her body inside the small cave and pulled her legs up towards her.  
  
The cave smelt damp and musty, but at least it wasn't in the river. Anything had to be better than that. She started rubbing her legs, groaning as the feeling began to return. She managed to lift them an inch off the ground. It was starting to get dark now; it had been just after noon when she'd made the jump and surely she must have been in the water longer than a few hours to make her body feel this way. She tucked her head into the corner of her arm and tried to go to sleep. Things would look better in morning.  
  
***  
  
Kelly woke up at dawn and began stretching her legs. She could feel them this morning, which she supposed was an improvement. She crawled out of the cove and looked upwards. The cliffs were sheer, probably the same height as those she had jumped from several days ago. She had done rock climbing before she reminded herself; this would be a piece of cake. She laughed at her own positively and pulled herself from the cove onto the side of the cliff. Her muscles protested when she put weight on them, so she went extremely slowly up the side.  
  
She was loathed to look down at all, the sight of the churning river below her turning her stomach. She silently swore never to add too much powder to an explosive again. She reached upwards for the next handhold and felt a tuft of grass. She almost cried out in relief and put on an extra burst of energy to pull herself over the top. She laid down on the grass for a long time, just letting the rising sun warm up her body.  
  
When the sun was high in the sky, Kelly made herself get up. She hadn't eaten for way too long by her reckoning (she generally tended to eat about as much as a hobbit - especially m&ms). She looked around at her surroundings, thinking she would probably any animal she saw on sight. She could the white tower of Gondor several miles to the north west of her, thankfully she hadn't gone that far down river. There didn't seem to be anything to eat around, so she sat down again, drawing a rough map of Middle Earth from what she remembered on the ground with a twig.  
  
If anyone else had ended up in Middle Earth and they had previously read Lord of the Rings, they would probably head for somewhere Elven, the Elves being the wisest beings in all Middle Earth. If they hadn't read Lord of the Rings, they would probably just wander around aimlessly until they were captured or died. There was nothing she could do for them.  
  
The nearest Elven retreat to her was Lothlorien, almost directly north-west from here. It would be a hard journey, she would have to pass through the outskirts of Gondor and the corner of Rohan. As long as she stuck close to the Anduin, she should stay pretty much on track.  
  
The country was open for miles around her, there was no shelter or anything that looked as if it could prove useful on a journey such as this. Scuffing her map out with what was left of her trainer, she started walking towards Minas Tirith. Her cousin was always talking about how useful *borrowing* was and her journey would be much easier if she had transportation. It would also be useful to have some food as well. Her stomach growled in appreciation for her plan and she smiled. She just hoped she could pull it off. 


	6. CHAPTER SIX : CONSEQUENCES

CHAPTER SIX - CONSEQUENCES  
  
  
  
Fred sat munching some lembas as she watched the stars. She'd never really *looked* at the stars back home, but it seemed a peaceful thing to do here. After much deliberation, she'd decided to head for Rivendell, trusting that if Chrissie were here, she would head for Frodo. She had no idea where Kelly would head, probably to nearest exciting place she added. She'd decided to follow what looked like a road to her way of thinking that cut straight through Mirkwood and lead over the Misty Mountains from there to Rivendell. It didn't seem far on the map, but since she'd been walking for over a day already and she hadn't even found the path that led into the wood, it could be a long, long way.  
  
Nothing spectacular had happened during the previous day, for which she was very thankful, and she'd arrived with no sightings of orcs on her tail. Tomorrow she would head back into Mirkwood Forest, a journey she was not looking forward to, considering she still had nightmares about being trapped in that spider web. She wished she had read the Hobbit, then at least she might have some clue where she was going and what to expect.  
  
She settled down under a large tree and pulled Legolas's cloak around her at about the same time that, in the other corners of Middle Earth, Kelly fell asleep in the cliff cave and Chrissie sat awake thinking about how happy she was. All three were alone, not aware of the other's presence in Middle Earth.  
  
***  
  
Fred started walking early the next morning, enjoying this new past time she'd found. She made good progress that day, eating small rations of lembas minimally and conserving her drinking water. After all she'd seen enough jungle movies to know to conserve rations. She stopped for a brief lunch and finally found a fairly wide track way leading into the forest. As soon as she'd gone beyond sight of the entrance, the trees seemed to close in on her, turning the once bright sunlight into tiny shards dotted sparsely on the ground. The warm summer breeze was chill and strangely moist. She remembered why she didn't like this place.  
  
Reluctantly when she could no longer see any signs of light and was beginning to tire, she snuggled into the roots of a tree sitting almost right on the path. She'd already forgotten what Legolas had said about sleeping in the trees for a bit more protection.  
  
Fred woke with a start. She could have sworn she'd heard something howling and it sounded close, way too close for her liking. Something skittered to her left and she jumped. The howl came again to her left, closer this time. She wasn't going to hang around to find out what it was. Plucking the knife from her satchel she crept into the woods, looking for some kind of hiding place. She settled for a hollowed out tree and squeezed inside. She hugged her knees and listened to the howls get closer and closer. She stopped breathing as she heard something scratching on the outside of the trunk.  
  
Fred woke up the next morning stiff and unrested. She had stayed awake for most of the night, listening to howls getting closer then circling away again. She crawled out of her hiding place and looked around. She didn't recognise anything.  
  
She walked back towards where she thought the footpath was. She hadn't walked that far from the footpath last night, only ten or twenty metres it had seemed. She kept walking for twenty minutes or more and found nothing. No signs that she'd passed through here at all. Feeling frustrated, she ran back the way she had come, yet couldn't seem to find the tree where she'd spent the night. She was lost.  
  
She looked up to the sky, hoping for some indication of direction from it. The same as yesterday, she could only see small shards of light filtering through the dense canopy, direction by the sun would be impossible. She looked around for moss. She'd seen on the telly once that moss only grows on the north side of the tree so if she went left at every tree, she would be going west, which was where she wanted to go. She looked around the trees. The moss here grew all the way around the trunk in huge rings. This was hopeless.  
  
She slid down the side of the trunk, collapsing onto the floor. Stupid, stupid Kelly for getting her into this. She was hopelessly lost in a forest that spanned hundreds of miles in every direction, with her supplies running low. Plus the added danger of the spiders she'd already experienced and whatever it was that had been howling last night, she felt small and vulnerable. She took her head in her hands and despaired.  
  
*** Chrissie was excited. Frodo had arrived late last night and although she knew from the book he probably wouldn't wake for several days, the thought of meeting Frodo filled her with joy. She wished Fred could be hear to see this. She did a little dance around the room and fled down the corridor to the Hall of Fire to talk to Arwen.  
  
***  
  
Kelly approached the gates of Minas Tirith. She was aware that she looked distinctly dirty and grimy, but was hoping that this would cover up the fact she was wearing orc armour. She tied her hair back tight and wiped her face with some more mud; Gondorians would notice a woman dressed in arms, but a man would be perfectly acceptable.  
  
She walked self-consciously up to the gates as if she had every right to and walked right in, hoping the amount of nerves she had didn't show as much on the outside as she felt on the inside. The guards didn't give her a second glance thankfully and she felt a funny feeling of déja-vù from watching Robin Hood too many times.  
  
Her stomach growled as she passed market stalls filled with food. She didn't think they'd take British Sterling so carried on walking. She walked around for a few hours, keeping a low profile but getting a good idea of the layout of the town centre should she need to escape. She choose an empty looking stable, fairly close to the town gate and slipped inside.  
  
Inside the stable there stood a few common horses, but there was one that stood out against the rest. A pure black stallion stood in the end stall, lightly grunting as she approached it. Kelly quickly put the saddle on and tightened the straps and hoping for her own sake she still remembered how to do this. Luckily there was a pack tied to the back of the horse already and a quick peek inside indicated rice bread. She took a quick bite to appease her stomach but nearly choked when she heard someone come in behind her.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, young sir?" A silky voice said from behind her. Oh shit, Kelly thought. If that's a *female* stable hand, I will die of shame right here and now.  
  
***  
  
Kelly froze against the side of the horse and tried not to breathe. She heard the footsteps approach from behind her and winced when she felt a gentle hand clasp her shoulder.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry." She began as she grabbed the young girl's hand and tossed her over her own shoulder. Before the young girl could get up from the floor, Kelly delivered a sharp blow to the head. She hoped the poor girl didn't get concussion, but if she did, it served her right for sneaking up on her. She consumed most of the rations in the various stable bags and packed what was left in her *own* saddlebag. She waited a while, deciding it was probably best to wait until dark. She looked back at the girl every couple of minutes to make sure she was still out.  
  
Kelly let herself breathe out as she mounted the horse. He was steady and sure beneath her, firm in his footsteps as he walked out of the stable. She kept her head lowered and was ready to spur on the horse as soon as they nearer the gates. She peered around in the darkness and spying the gate, tried to get the horse to walk real quiet towards the gate.  
  
She trotted quietly down to the gate, thanking whoever liked her up there that there were no guards about. Now if she could just work out which rope worked the gate, she'd be fine. Picking a random rope, she yanked on it as hard as she could. She actually jumped for joy when the gate began moving up. She ran around and mounted up her horse once more and sat still waiting for the gate to move to a sufficient height that she could get under with her horse. It was nearly there, she thought. Just a few more minutes.  
  
"Hey! You there! What do you think you're doing?"  
  
Shit, Kelly thought and spurred on her horse. So much for a quiet borrowing. The gate was still a few inches to low for her and her horse to get under, so she plastered herself to her horse's neck and hoped for the best; which she often did.  
  
Luckily she'd only got into the first ring and so only had one gate to get through. She spurred the horse on as they cleared under the gate by mere centimetres. She hoped she remembered her riding lessons from when she was little.  
  
"FIRE! THAT'S THE STEWARD'S HORSE!"  
  
Damn, Kelly thought. Out of all the horses in Minas Tirith, I pick Denethor's. An arrow whizzed past her ear and she nearly jumped from the horse at that moment. The horse reared as an arrow stuck into it's hind quarter and Kelly hung on for dear life. The horse slowed and then stopped.  
  
"Come on, you stupid horse. It's only a scratch." The horse didn't seem amused and stood stone still.  
  
"Fine then. I'll walk all the way to Lothlorien."  
  
She grabbed her saddlebag and leapt from the horse, running as fast as she could in the direction that looked like north. She could hear the pounding of hooves behind her and before long she was surrounded.  
  
"I arrest you stranger for stealing the Lord Denethor's private horse and for assaulting a Miss Anga Bonem."  
  
Damn, Kelly thought. Where was Chrissie when you needed her.  
  
She drew the sword she'd *acquired* from the orcs.  
  
"Then I shall not go quietly." She shouted, as confidently as she could. She'd read the history books. The punishment for a horse thief was to lose his hands; she wanted to keep hers.  
  
The surrounding guards began to laugh and one by one jumped off their horses. She recognised Faramir in the background; Well I hope you enjoy the show, she thought angrily.  
  
One of the guards rushed at her and she clumsily blocked his stab at her stomach. The sword seemed heavy and imbalanced in her unpractised hands and as she whacked the guard over the head with it, the recoil knocked it from her hands. The guard recovered and threw a solid blow her way, knocking her to the ground. When she got up she realised why everyone had stopped and was staring at her.  
  
"She's a woman." Someone whispered.  
  
Kelly cringed. She was in really big trouble and even worse, Chrissie and Fred were nowhere in sight to get her out of it.  
  
"We can't fight a woman, Captain." Kelly smiled, perhaps there was hope yet.  
  
"Then you shall forfeit." She said, getting caught up in the moment. She regained her sword and raised it in front of her. Another guard laughed. Kelly was really pissed now.  
  
She launched herself at the laughing guardsman, making her choice, knowing it was hopeless but trying anyway. At first he flicked off her rallies as if they were but annoying flies, but when she managed, completely by luck to knock his sword from his hand, he got pissed as well. He came at her, fists flailing. She scored a couple of solid punches and so did he. The gathering was silent.  
  
Finally Kelly scored a solid punch to his jaw and knocked out a tooth out, almost completely by luck. With one swift backhand, he knocked her to the ground. She looked up then between strands of matted hair, blood pouring from her lip and jaw. She was just about to rush at the guard again when she felt a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I think stranger that you should come with me, before you knock all the teeth out of this man." She turned, it was Faramir.  
  
***  
  
Kelly was utterly miserable. Faramir had marched her up through Minas Tirith, bound tightly and dumped her in this excuse for a cell. She'd been sat in this goddamn cell for who know's how long and it smelled worse than the toilets in Newton block back home. She could already feel a bruise coming up on her chin and her muscles still ached from her extended parachute-less jump turned swimming lesson. She'd managed to eat some of the mouldy bread from the corner, but although she'd barely eaten in days, she wasn't *that* hungry.  
  
Kelly let her head fall to her hands. She'd already checked the cell as she'd seen them do in the movies. There were no weak point or hidden doors, basements entrances or soft spots. The window was high up on the wall, conveniently high enough that she couldn't jump to it. She felt pathetic. She'd never been in a hopeless situation before, there had always been some option she could try, no matter how stupid or impossible that idea seemed, it was always there. There were no ideas here at all. All she could do was wait.  
  
Someone hundreds of miles away, Fred sat feeling the same hopelessness in Mirkwood. Chrissie was the only one who was happy, but it was not to last. 


	7. CHAPTER SEVEN : ACTION

CHAPTER SEVEN - ACTIONS  
  
  
  
Chrissie was annoyed. She'd been at Rivendell for several days now and was getting slightly pissed off at Elrond's persistence that she should not leave. It would be too dangerous he said, what if she were captured he said. He pissed her off being so damn reasonable.  
  
A knock sounded and an elf poked his head around the door.  
  
"Lord Elrond requests your presence mi'lady, there is news that he thinks you would like to hear."  
  
She wondered if Frodo had woken up yet? She knew that he was going to be alright though, she'd seen the film numerous times. Taking a cloak with her, she fled down the stairs after the messenger and found Elrond sat in the library with Gandalf and another elf she didn't regonise, although he had remarkable similarities to Orlando Bloom. Perhaps he was related to him.  
  
"Mi'lady Chrissie. May I introduce one of Lord Thranduil's messengers, Duin- shiel."  
  
Ahh, Lord Thranduil, Legolas's father she thought. Chrissie acknowledged his presence with a nod. She was getting anxious about this news.  
  
"Legolas sent word back of his father's decision regarding our last meeting, but upon the bottom of the note he attached these final words:  
  
On my return journey, a woman known only as 'Fred' saved my life. She is brave and resourceful and on the date of this message is on the east borders of Mirkwood. She asked that if any other people were found that didn't seem to belong in Middle Earth to tell them about her."  
  
Elrond paused in his discussion of the message and looked at Chrissie.  
  
"Fred." Chrissie whispered, all her worst nightmares playing out in front of her eyes.  
  
"Perhaps you might care to enlighten us." Elrond asked gently.  
  
"What? Oh, she's a friend of mine back home.Mirkwood, that's east of the Misty Mountains." She focused back on Elrond. "I have to leave now. She might be in trouble."  
  
"I do not think that is wise. There is a greater chance of you both meeting if one of you stays still. This message was written many days ago and she could be anywhere by now. Anyway, the Dark Lord's power is growing and evil roams unchecked. What if you were set upon in the dark of the night? What would you do?"  
  
Chrissie tried to argue but just couldn't think of any arguments to give. She had not idea what she would do if she were set upon by evil in the middle of the night; probably scream and run away.  
  
She knew he was right but she just wanted to get out of here. She'd wanted so badly all her life to get to Rivendell and meet Frodo, but now she was here she just wanted to get away. She'd managed to sneak a glance at him through a crack in the door, but that was it. He was nowhere near as cute as Elijah Wood and he was kinda old; she was quite disappointed.  
  
She fled from the library and sat on her bed. Why did Elrond have to be so infuriatingly reasonable and right all the time? She was going to find Fred, there was no question in her mind about that. Here she was in comfort and luxury whilst Fred was off in goodness knows how much danger in Mirkwood. Why Fred hadn't even read the Hobbit, how was she supposed to fend off evils that she didn't even know about in Mirkwood?  
  
Arwen knocked and slipped in.  
  
"I have heard the message mellon nin and I have an idea."  
  
***  
  
Chrissie sat and listened in wonder as the only daughter of Elrond divulged how to deceive him. She spoke of the quickest ways out of Rivendell and went through the directions to Mirkwood. When Chrissie had looked confused, she had produced a sketchy map.  
  
Arwen provided her with riding tunic, sword and provisions and pointed out the best horse in the stable, Kobe she said her name was. Arwen also reminded Chrissie that if the horse was to survive passage over the mountains, she must stay on the lower roads.  
  
When all was ready, Chrissie stood at the Ford of Brunien with Arwen beside her. Arwen's plan had seemed so easy and obvious whilst sat indoors, but now outside in the chill night air it seemed dangerous.  
  
Chrissie paused, hesitant to leave the safety of Rivendell. Arwen leaned forward and embraced Chrissie and for a moment, time slowed his weary journey as the two said farewell.  
  
"Take this, Chrissie." Arwen said, handing her something. Chrissie opened her hand to find a bracelet, jewelled with purple and green. Chrissie looked at Arwen.  
  
"Thankyou. I don't know what I would have done here without you."  
  
"Probably been bored out of your mind." The two girls shared a last laugh.  
  
Chrissie mounted on her horse, Kobe; a hazelnut mare of seventeen hands high. She was a beauty.  
  
"Ride swift, mellon nin and don't look back."  
  
Chrissie smiled. "Ride hard." She muttered in an Aragorn impression. It had always cracked her up in the film. She spurred her horse across the river and into the night.  
  
Standing alone on the banks of the Brunien, Arwen laughed. If she hadn't known better she would have said Chrissie was impersonating Aragorn. Elrond appeared behind her and put his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"She has a strong, stubborn will that one. No amount of reasoning will ever keep her from following her heart."  
  
Elrond sighed. He'd known Arwen would aid Chrissie, but he was comforted. At least with Arwen's help Chrissie would have a greater chance of survival beyond the protection of the Elves. He wondered if she'd catch up with Duin- Shiel, he'd left maybe only an hour before her.  
  
*** Kelly was bored, bored, bored. She'd tried chucking stones across the cell, aiming for a different patch of dirt each time but the novelty was wearing off. She tried humming the entire soundtrack to the FOTR and TTT movie, but had got annoyed after the fiftieth repeat; it was too easy. She had tried reciting all the Elvish she knew, (which had taken a while) but when her throat dried up, she was stuffed. She was just plain fed up. Why, even trying to get herself killed on the outside would be more fun than being bored to death in here. Footsteps sounded outside her cell; she might just get her chance.  
  
She had two options; either rush the person as soon as they came in or let them speak. Since the last time she'd rushed someone she'd ended up with a split lip and a bruised jaw, she stood still while the door opened. Sure enough, the first person through had a pike. See she told herself; she had sense sometimes.  
  
Faramir followed the guard in then dismissed him, shutting the door behind him. Kelly felt like spitting in his face.  
  
For a moment they just stood there, sizing each other up. Kelly wondering if she could take him down, Faramir wondering if she would try. Satisfied, Faramir stopped pacing.  
  
"You do know that the penalty for horse stealing is to lose your hands."  
  
Kelly said nothing.  
  
Faramir got annoyed. "Tell me how you know of my brother." He hissed.  
  
Kelly winced mentally, what was she supposed to say? "I met him before I was captured by the orcs and brought to Mordor. We spoke of many things." Would he buy it? Things couldn't get much worse.  
  
"He would not just spill out such things as you know to strangers. Tell me how you know of them." He almost spat out. Damn, she thought, he just had to ask that question.  
  
Okay, Kelly thought and rached her brain for some kind of Middle Earth type explanation. When she thought of feelings, she thought of Elves. Time for the whopper lie then.  
  
"I'm somewhat.empathetic. I have Elven blood in me." She wished. "I asked what was troubling him and he eventually told me."  
  
Faramir raised an eyebrow. "What else did he tell you?"  
  
Well, he believes the whopper, but now I'm gonna be uncovered by the white lies. Typical, Kelly thought.  
  
".He told me of his dreams, how the light would shine on Imladris. He told me of Gondor, it's glory and the war with Mordor. He always spoke with great pride when speaking of Gondor." Yes, just try the sensitive area voiced Kelly's cynical conscience.  
  
"Why do you speak of him in the past tense?" Faramir asked, puzzled.  
  
Damn, Kelly thought, he's not dead yet. "Because I met him in the past." She winced, praying that he would believe her and not chop off her hands.  
  
"Would you count yourself among his friends?"  
  
Kelly gulped. "Yes. I suppose I would."  
  
"Then I am sorry for your treatment mi'lady. Any friend of Boromir's, especially one so brave as you, is welcome in our home."  
  
Kelly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. He thinks I'm brave. Yay for me, she thought. I get to keep my hands, always useful.  
  
*** Fred felt a tear run down her cheek. What was she going to do? She heard a howl to her left and instinctively ran in the opposite direction. She kept running, no longer caring where to, just away from these wolves and this forest. Why hadn't she stayed with Legolas?  
  
Fred found herself on the banks of a river, it's water clear and deep. There was no visible way to cross it, so she wandered a long the banks a while searching. She checked her bottle, she was running low on water. She looked over into the river; it was so clear and beautiful, there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with that water. Fred opened her bottle and filled it up with river water, then took a long swig. She felt immediately better.  
  
She carried on wandering along the banks, then caught a glimmer of torch lights in the corner of her eye. She ran towards them and tripped over a fallen log. She curled up into a ball, perhaps she would just take a little rest here, not for long, just enough so that she wasn't so tired. Just a little rest.  
  
***** Chrissie: Well Kelly wanted to jump off the cliff because at the time she felt it was her best chance of survival. She does not like cells.  
  
Darth-trinity: Agent Smith and Agent Jones kinda worked themselves into my story through their own devious means. I don't think Ms Warmsly hired them, they kinda got sent in by the government cos they are the government's best people.  
  
KurleyHawk2: Thanks. And chappies are coming fast. Hope you like it.  
  
Rebecca: I am typing my fingers to the bone.  
  
Kat Heiman: Yeah I know, Kelly always seems to have the worst luck for some odd reason.  
  
Tbiris: She had to do it. After watching the TTT film and Faramir just dragging Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath without hardly any questions, she figured she was probably just gonna be thrown in jail with no chance of getting out. Also she's criminally insane.  
  
Tbiris: Well Kelly is very odd to, you should meet the person she's based on, even worse I can tell you.  
  
Urylia: Thanks. Next chapter coming soon.  
  
Holly: yeah I like Kelly to. I enjoy making her suffer more though.  
  
Hobbit-eyes: Thanks. Never heard of koolies before.  
  
Tbiris: yeah I know, but they don't really know how many there are of them that disappeared, I've dropped a few subtle hints to how many, where and who etc. but you'll have to use your imagination to work it out.  
  
Kat Heiman: Again, Kelly has the worst luck. She just had to steal Denethor's horse, not just some peasant person's that no one would have noticed disappearing. I try to keep it light-hearted most of the time.  
  
Coolgirlchic16: Thanks.  
  
Chrissie: Well, since Fred hasn't actually said anything about it on the record, I'm gonna presume she's okay with it. And I would count your blessings while you still have em if you get my meaning. 


	8. CHAPTER EIGHT : CRUSHED

CHAPTER EIGHT - CRUSHED  
Chrissie stopped her horse. She'd been riding most of the day and it was definitely time for a break. She was in the foothills of the Misty Mountains and there wasn't a great deal of cover anywhere. She spied a groove of birch up ahead and scrambled off the horse. She took the bridle in her hand and directed it into the groove. She'd taken only a few steps inside when the tip of an arrow brushed her throat.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie stopped dead in her tracks. The arrow withdrew and as she turned around to face her attacker, she gasped. It was Duin-shiel.  
  
Duin-shiel lowered his eyes not wanting to meet hers. He'd been on edge all afternoon because of the sounds of hooves pursuing him, but it had only been the Lady Chrissie. He was ashamed to have attacked her; he could have killed her.  
  
Chrissie retreated into the trees, hiding as best she could behind her horse. As soon as she'd cleared the other side of the trees, she re-mounted her horse and thundered into the growing dusk, not wanting to stick around for Duin-shiel to try and kill her again.  
  
When she could ride no more, she collapsed into the brush, exhausted. After a long night filled with dreams of riding and arrows she woke up, squinting in the daylight. Duin-shiel was sat cross legged only metres from her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw him, letting out a small scream. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand, thinking that had actually been quite loud.  
  
"I am sorry mi'lady."  
  
Chrissie glared at him, but couldn't really think of anything to say that he would understand.  
  
Giving each word great thought, he said: "Where are you going?"  
  
"Mirkwood."  
  
Duin-Shiel cocked his head. Why would Chrissie be travelling all this way alone?  
  
As if hearing her thoughts, "My friend could be in trouble, I have to go."  
  
"I will go with you. I am going to King Thranduil's palace and it will be safer to go together."  
  
Chrissie nodded reluctantly. By his very ability to sneak up on her, it meant that she was vulnerable to whatever roamed this land. She would be better off with him. She stood up and found her horse grazing near by. Tightening the saddle she said,  
  
"Let's go."  
  
They rode hard during that day, Chrissie gripping the horse in anger. She wanted to think she could have made it to Mirkwood alone, her pride had been squashed. She felt like she was being baby-sat. Duin-Shiel gripped the reins because he was tense, he was afraid for her, afraid he wouldn't be able to protect her if they were set upon by evil. She seemed so naïve about such things, not really caring if they were attacked or not. All her energy seemed to be focused on getting to Mirkwood. They stopped briefly for lunch, mainly for the horses.  
  
"We should lead the horses now, the paths will be too steep."  
  
Chrissie nodded and took the lead rope from the bridal of her horse. She started walking. Even though she hurt all over from riding all day, she still had some pride left worth saving and held her head high.  
  
***  
  
Mr Winchif sat with his head in his hands at his desk. The kids had been missing almost a week now and he was receiving a lot of grief about it.  
  
On one side he had the police detectives, although they seemed to enjoy terrorising his staff more than actually finding out anything. He had contacts in the Police department, but none of them had ever heard of them before, saying the Government had hired them for a confidential reason for this case.  
  
On the other side he had the parents and students. All the students had decided it was a good reason not to go to school and since the school was now a crime scene they wouldn't be allowed in anyway. Like they cared.  
  
The parents seemed to be phoning him every hour of the day and night, asking what he was going to do to help, what was happening and if there'd been any progress.  
  
Conveniently he'd confiscated Mr Brae's bottle of whiskey from the bottom draw of his teaching desk and Mr Winchif took a swig. He was glad the old man was useful for something.  
  
The kids had probably just run off to prove a point or something and they'd be back soon enough when they wanted to. Stupid kids.  
  
***  
  
Kelly looked out of one of the windows in Minas Tirith, out across the valley to Mordor. The volcano continued to spew fire into the morning sunlight, giving her the impression the sky was on fire. It was exactly how she'd always imagined it would be.  
  
Once she'd been taken from the prisons and officially pardoned, she'd been given a room in one of the wings and a hot bath. Fresh clothes had been laid out on her bed, but Kelly laughed. She was not going to be seen in a dress, even if she was in Middle Earth.  
  
She had rinsed her old clothes out in the bath, not wanting to abandon her combats quite yet; feeling like Crocodile Dundee in exile. When they were almost dry she put them on again, as well as her armour chest plate and sword. She'd become quite attached to them, even if they had been made by orcs.  
  
Kelly wasn't planning to stay long here, just enough so that she could move without her bruises hurting and not being hungry all the time. She walked down the corridor, trying to find some door to the outside, but even on the ground floor she could find none. Getting annoyed, she stood on a nearby table and climbed out of one of the windows.  
  
Landing in what appeared to be a courtyard, she sat down on what seemed a well-used tree stump. Across the yard, several young soldiers were sparring together. Kelly smiled. Perhaps she could learn a thing or two here after all to help her on her journey.  
  
***  
  
Fred drifted in and out of consciousness. Sometimes she would see bright lights, sometimes darkness. She knew she was dreaming because she kept seeing David Borenanaz and Frodo doing ring o' ring a roses. She felt like she was moving across the ground, but her thoughts were dulled. Damn, she thought. What was in that river water?  
  
***  
  
Kelly fell to the ground again. She betted her muscles were going to kill tomorrow after working out like this after everything she'd been through in last few days. She was seeming to get the hang of managing to hold on to her sword, at least she hadn't dropped it yet. Luckily the guard that she'd knocked a tooth out of was nowhere to be seen.  
  
She was glad they thought her just another young lad training for the army. If they thought her a girl they would never have sparred with her at all. She caught a solid blow with her sword, despite the fact it sent vibrations all the way down her arm. She heard footsteps behind her and a sword drawing. Instinctively she spun and parried before the blow even came.  
  
It was Faramir. Kelly glared at him as he drew her hair from the back of her armour where she'd tucked it out of sight. The guards she'd been sparring with looked astounded. It was infuriating. She stormed off and jumped back through the window she'd come out through, not having the patience to try and find the door. She opened the door to her room to find Faramir stood by her window. He was so aggravating.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" She shouted at him as she unhooked her armour and threw it at him. He stepped nimbly to the side and it crashed against the wall. "Why is it that every time something seems to going right for me, you just have to interrupt?"  
  
Faramir raised an eyebrow as she threw a surprising well-aimed knife his way. "My father would like to speak with you, but when I came to find you, you were out sparring with the guards like a fool. A lady should not be doing such a thing."  
  
"And since I first met you, when have I ever made it obvious that I want to be treated like a *lady*? You're just an arrogant pig; all you've done for me is swap one cell for another of a different kind. I told you once that I would rather die than live in a cage and I hold to it." She said drawing her sword.  
  
She walked towards him menacingly. "Do you know why I didn't tell you how I know your brother? No of course you don't, you see I know what's going to happen to Boromir. But the funny thing is, you're never going to find out because you're going to be dead."  
  
She lunged at him and for a moment Faramir was glad she'd only had a day's training with a blade. He knocked the sword from her hands and pinned her against the wall.  
  
She looked up into his eyes, but what Faramir saw was fire. He stepped back and held his hands up in innocence. He tried to pretend nothing had happened. "Are you going to come and talk to my father or not?"  
  
Kelly was visibly fuming; but as quickly as her anger had come, it went. She slumped down on the bed. "No." She murmured. She looked up to meet his eyes. She had to leave, she'd told him too much. Her and her stupid fowl temper and anyway, she wasn't welcome here. As soon as she let her guard down, Faramir would be there in an instant to try to get more out of her about Boromir.  
  
"I'll leave tomorrow at dawn." She said, her eyes never leaving the floor.  
  
Faramir frowned. He knew that she had nowhere to go, but still she was ready to leave the relative safety of Minas Tirith at the drop of a hat.  
  
"No horses?" Faramir said, almost smiling.  
  
"No horses." She replied glumly.  
  
Faramir left and as he moved down the corridor he kicked the wall in anger. She was his only link to his brother and he had driven her away. He was a fool.  
  
*** 


	9. CHAPTER NINE : CHASED

CHAPTER NINE - CHASED  
Fred lifted her head slightly and opened her eyes. Her head felt unbearably heavy and her body felt leaden. Every move she made seemed to be in slow motion and her thoughts slower still. She could still hear the river flowing behind her; there was something bad about that river that she should remember.there was a rustle to her right. She tried to twist around, but her body was still recovering from the effects of the Mirkwood Water. She heard a scuttling behind her. She instantly thought spiders.  
  
She'd had several nightmares about the spider webs she'd been caught in when she'd first arrived and she realised now she should not have watched Arachnophobia so many times. There was the scuttle again. She tried to lift her arm to pull herself up, but it just wasn't complying. Leaves stirred beneath her cheek as the ground began to shake. Fred instinctively shivered. There were hundreds of them.  
  
Fred felt a pressure move onto her leg and tickle her as it crawled up. It was way too heavy to be a spider she told herself, there couldn't possibly be spiders that big. She pressure rested on the back of her neck and paused. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck and her vision began to get fuzzy again.  
  
She could feel something tight and sticky being wrapped around her body, tightening her limbs into straight position. Her eyes closed and she felt the feeling move up her body onto her chest. As her last piece of consciousness remained, she felt it tightening around her throat, mouth and nose, then passed into oblivion.  
  
***  
  
The spiders dragged their carcass through the forest back to their nest near the centre. They strung her up next to several others they'd managed to catch earlier, although the one on the left was beginning to smell. The spiders swarmed across the ground and into the tree trunks, leaving almost no trace of their presence. The only mark of their nest was the littering of bones on the forest floor and the strung victims, swaying lightly in the wind. Soon they would join the bones on the floor.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie looked up at the night sky and the stars. She and Duin-Shiel hadn't really gone that far up the mountain that afternoon, but she had been dreading setting down to camp that evening. She wasn't sure what he was going to do. He lit a fire and consumed some of his rations then rolled out a blanket and went to sleep without a word to her.  
  
She was hurt. She missed speaking words and although she knew the elf didn't speak that much in the common tongue and she didn't speak much Elvish, he could have at least tried. Then again, she hadn't really tried much either. Making a resolution to talk to him tomorrow, she led down to sleep near the campfire.  
  
***  
  
"Four school children have been missing from their school, Westwood St Thomas in Salisbury for a week now. Police have no apparent leads as to their whereabouts due to conflicting evidence. After checking CCTV footage and witness reports, Police do not believe they have left the premises, yet can find them nowhere on the property. This case continues to baffle Detectives, and the Police have made another appeal for the public to come forward if they have seen these individuals."  
  
Recent photographs of the four missing students flashed up on the screen and the dumb blonde reporter started talking about the latest football results. A secretary turned off the television and everyone's attention focused back on the table they were all sitting at.  
  
All the parents of the four missing students were there, as well as some friends and advisors. A select panel of teachers sat at the far end, desperately wishing that some hole in the floor would appear and swallow them up.  
  
"We have been told there are old war bunkers beneath the school, cellars, basements and the like. We want them opened up. Now."  
  
Kelly's Dad's eyes looked menacingly from teacher to teacher, as if by doing so he could tell who was holding something back. He wondered if he would need the box of explosives that he kept in the back of the shed for emergencies.  
  
***  
  
Duin-Shiel woke early the next morning, far earlier than he had expected given what he'd completed in previous days. He glanced over at Chrissie; still sound asleep. Well, the sun had only just now and so he would wait a while before waking her up. She had shown a resiliency he had not expected of her so far, this Fred must really be someone special.  
  
He found his horse grazing not far away and gave it a rub down before having breakfast. When Chrissie still didn't get up of her own accord, he decided something had to be done. Feeling incredibly self-conscious, he knelt down beside her and shook her gently.  
  
She groaned and opened her eyes, then seeing Duin-Shiel inches from her face, her eyes widened and she slapped him. He recoiled back from her, face reddening. Chrissie sat stunned; she had slapped Duin-Shiel because she was grouchy in the mornings. She hadn't even meant it.  
  
***  
  
Duin-Shiel took his horse's leading rope and began leading it up the path. He face stung from Chrissie's slap, but his heart hurt worse. He didn't understand why she'd done it at all. After a few minutes he heard her jogging up behind him with her horse and soon was keeping pace quietly behind him. They walked silently into the hills, neither knowing what to say that the other might understand.  
  
It began to rain. At first a light drizzle, then succumbing into a full downpour within hours. By nightfall, Duin-Shiel and Chrissie were completely miserable. At last Chrissie stopped and shouted to Duin-Shiel.  
  
"We have to stop. I've been walking for seven stinking hours in this downpour and I am completely exhausted. Even if you don't stop for me, at least stop for the horses. Look at them, they're as miserable as we are."  
  
Duin-Shiel turned back to her. "We should not stop until we reach the other side of the mountains. It is only another few hours. It is too dangerous to stop here."  
  
Chrissie began shouting. "Well I don't care really. If we don't stop soon, I'll die of exhaustion anyway and one of the horses will stumble and fall down there." She gestured to the ravine to her right. "What would we do then?"  
  
"We *have* to keep going. Orcs roam these hills by nightfall and if we stay here, we are sitting ducks."  
  
"I DON'T CARE!" She screamed as lightning struck the ground nearby. She jumped and very nearly fell into the ravine from sheer shock.  
  
A sound of drums began reverberating through the air, as if magnetising the very air around them. Duin-Shiel bent to the ground and listened.  
  
"Goblins. Hundreds of them coming up the trail behind us now. We have to go now!"  
  
Chrissie didn't argue this time and grabbed her horse and ran with Duin- Shiel. They sprinted up the path and soon crested the mountain. Duin-Shiel paused to mount his horse and gestured for Chrissie to do the same.  
  
"The horses will stumble galloping down this slope. We'll be killed."  
  
"Better that than be killed by Goblins." He grinned. "Hold onto the reins as tight as you can and try to keep up." She laughed and spurred her horse down the slope.  
  
Chrissie held on for dear life. Duin-Shiel seemed to be enjoying the adrenaline rush. Well, good for him, but she was petrified. The wind and rain rushed at her from all directions and the path narrowed until it was but a single man wide against the mountainside. Chrissie screamed as she looked behind her and saw hundreds of glowing pairs of eyes in the darkness.  
  
***  
  
She spurred her horse on faster and never saw the bend coming. Her horse tried to dig it's hooves into the stone as it realised about the same time as Chrissie did the path was running out in front of them.  
  
"Jump Chrissie!" Duin-Shiel shouted from around the bend. His horse had obviously seen it coming and slowed accordingly. Lucky him.  
  
"I can't." She cried as the edge of the cliff came closer and closer. She was too frightened to jump from a horse moving at full speed. The horse stopped suddenly, throwing Chrissie off over the front of the horse. She fell into the darkness and it seemed that she fell farther than ever possible. She let out a scream as she banged against the side of the cliff, dislocating her right shoulder and kept falling.  
  
"CHRISSIE!" Duin-Shiel screamed from the edge.  
  
*** I'm going to Margate this week so no more updates till Thursday. *crawls into the corner and hides* Sorry!  
  
Arinya: I kinda like Kelly too. And the funny thing is, it is me and my friends!  
  
Coolgirlchic16: What's with the deep nodding?  
  
Chrissie: you are that bad at directions.  
  
Tbiris: Reviews are NEVER annoying, they are always great! (  
  
Arinya: I like to put reasoning in the chapter so you can kinda see where they're coming from.  
  
Psychoman364: Thanks!  
  
Lulu bell: Thanks! I'll post as soon as I get back home.  
  
Chrissie: Yeah I thought the ring o roses was cool too. You would never had gotten to Mirkwood on your own and reading this chapter you can understand why.  
  
Tbiris: yes the friends have to unite. But don't worry, there is still every chance they will be killed before and/or they do. 


	10. CHAPTER TEN : ESCAPE

CHAPTER TEN - ESCAPE  
Fred felt wheezy. She tried to move her hands, but could only manage the barest of movements. She took a moment to collect her senses, wake up from whatever concoction of poisons the spiders had injected her with. She opened her eyes to find a something but centimetres from them. She started panicking, fidgeting and trying to get free. She couldn't breathe.she had to get free.she felt another sharp prick in her neck and the world faded away once more.  
  
***  
  
Duin-Shiel galloped down the mountain as fast as his horse would go. He couldn't believe that she'd fallen over the edge and the image of her eyes, white with terror and falling away swirled around in his mind.  
  
The pursuit of the goblins dimmed to a faint buzz in the background, he was gaining ground on them now. He thundered down the path, constantly looking into the darkness of the ravine to his right to see if he could see anything of her. He could see nothing in the pitch black pit, no sign of her at all.  
  
"CHRISSIE!" He cried out into the ravine, There was no answer, not even an echo.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie fell onto a sloped ledge part way down the cliff. She tried to dig her fingernails into the stone but her now bloodied fingers could find nothing to grip and she slid down the side. She slid over the edge, catching her hair on a stray bush. She was mad now, her hair was out of place. Her fingers tried to grip onto the edge, but her hands just weren't strong enough. She slipped from the edge and fell further into the gloom.  
  
***  
  
Duin-Shiel reached the bottom of the cliff at dawn and looked desperately amongst the rubble for any signs of life. He saw three fingers dislocated in painful positions above the line of soil. He ran to them and held on to them. They were still warm.  
  
He began digging through the rubble like a mad man, still whispering her name as his tears littered the ground. He uncovered her arm and began to pull her out. He heard her grunt. Thank the Valar she was alive. She spluttered as he turned her over and she opened her eyes to see the dawn light spilling across the valley. She smiled and began complaining.  
  
"Oh my God, look at my nails; look at my hair, for God's sake. My shoulder feels like fire."  
  
Duin-Shiel smiled, at least everything was back to normal. He removed the small stake from her shoulder and bandaged it as best he could with strips of cloth. He snapped her fingers back into place, despite her screaming and crying. They sat until nearly midday, resting and eating.  
  
***  
  
Kelly stuck her knife back in her boot and stuffed the apples that were in a bowl by the window into a small satchel she'd *found. * She might as well make use of Faramir's hospitality while it lasted. She'd stayed an extra day unintentionally, since she'd hadn't woken up until after noon yesterday, she didn't see the point in starting out so late in the day. She guessed she was tired from sparring with the guards and perhaps her old injuries had caught up with her.  
  
Using her now familiar window, she jumped into the courtyard, since she still had no idea where the door was. She walked causally down the pebbled street, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of Minas Tirith. It wasn't that different from how she'd imagined it to be. It felt almost good to be in Middle Earth and for a moment, she wondered exactly why she was heading towards the Elves. Sure they wouldn't stick her in a dungeon or try and shoot arrows at her, but they would try and send her home.  
  
She paused. Did she really want that? There was no school here, no stupid coursework to hand in and no exams to be taken. She could quite happily live out her life here. She walked out from the gates and looked to the horizon. There was one thing she'd always wanted to do. Fight at Helm's Deep.  
  
Kelly grinned at started walking north-west towards Rohan.  
  
***  
  
Duin-Shiel helped Chrissie onto his horse, then mounted behind her. Her horse, Kobe had perished last night, presumably eaten by the Goblins, since he'd found several large bones littering the floor this morning.  
  
He still couldn't believe she was alive. They made good progress from then on, since the land was fair and green. They rested the horse often and saw no more signs of the goblins that had chased them so tenaciously the night before. Perhaps Kobe had brought them time to escape.  
  
They camped at sundown and carried on the following day, peacefully narrowing down the number of miles to Mirkwood.  
  
***  
  
Fred opened her eyes. She was getting distinctively tired of being unconscious. She saw the white stuff in front of her eyes and initially panicked. She remembered what had happened last time she'd panicked and stayed still. If she was going to escape this, she was going to have to stay calm.  
  
She tried to reach down for Legolas's knife, tucked securely into her belt. It sliced her fingers up and she tried to pull the blade from her belt, but she was relentless. Fred grabbed the blade between two fingers and pulled. The blade wiggled free a few precious centimetres into the palm of her hand. She wondered briefly if it was night or day and which would be better to face these spiders. Shrugging, she slashed out in front of her as best she could and managed to create a small void. Darkness flooded in, but it was far better than the bleach white of the webs.  
  
She managed to squeeze her forearm out into the open and tried to slash back on herself to get at the webs from the outside. She felt the cool night air hit her stomach and chest. Just a bit more, she thought.just a bit more.  
  
She slashed right through the web and into her shoulder and she couldn't help but wince. Biting her lip, she carried on slashing in a more controlled manner now, feeling it intensely every time she cut her skin. She was going to look a mess when she got out of this.  
  
Fred continued cutting and slashing for what seemed to her like hours, but was in fact mere minutes. She felt herself jerk and looked down. She was at least ten or twelve metres above the ground. Damn. She squirmed around to try and balance the small thread that was holding her up. She heard a small snap and was falling into the blackness below her.  
  
***  
  
Fred was determined not to fall unconscious this time and felt the full pain of her ankle spraining on impact. She cried out as she landed and heard a dozen other snaps. She looked around her; She had landed in a pile of bones.  
  
The bones were everywhere, and were of every shape and size. Large rib cages came out of the ground like tunnels and small little bones littered the ground like beach pebbles. She picked a direction and began crawling, pulling herself by her hands and wincing every time her ankle touched something.  
  
The dawn light began to break out in front of her and she smiled. Smiled just as she felt the ground rumbling behind her as she spiders began to wake up. Smiled just as she saw a thousand spiders the size of large dogs, begin crawling out of tree trunks and caves. She looked away and focused in front of her. Fred began crawling away from the spiders into the dawn light and into the forest. She didn't care where she went, as long as it was away from the spiders.  
  
***  
  
It seemed to Fred that the sky erupted behind her in flames and as she looked back, the brightness blinded her. She crawled under a fallen log, watching the flames lick at the trees and bushes around her. She could never out run the fire. Better to die like this than by the spiders, she thought as plain exhaustion and starvation began to set in. The pain of her sprained ankle was like a throbbing in her mind, clouding her thoughts and vision. She curled up into a ball, similar to a time once before and closed her eyes.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie and Duin-Shiel had reached Mirkwood yesterday afternoon when they'd picked up Fred's tracks. They'd followed them into the forest until spiders had overwhelmed the tracks and night had fell  
  
"She may not even be alive still, these tracks are days old." It had turned out Duin-shiel knew more of the common tongue that he had initially let on.  
  
Chrissie fumed. "I still have to look for her. I will go on alone then." She stormed in the direction of the spider trail and Duin-Shiel followed reluctantly. He didn't really want to follow her to find her friend dead, yet he didn't really want to leave Chrissie alone in the forest.  
  
Duin-Shiel dived forwards and pulled Chrissie to the ground, placing his hand over her mouth. She struggled, but as he turned her head towards the clearing up ahead she ceased to struggle. She'd been just about to storm into the middle of the spider's nest.  
  
She watched as the spiders swarmed from trunks and caves, filling up the forest floor in seconds. The floor was littered with bones, some so huge they reminded her of dinosaur bones and some so small they seemed but pebbles. She hoped Fred wasn't among those piles. Duin-shiel motioned towards a small movement in the trees opposite and Chrissie saw a flash of brown. That wasn't a spider. She moved to get up, but Duin-Shiel pulled her down again. He flicked some stones together sending sparks up and down several long branches. The dry wood soon flickered into strong flames.  
  
"Use these torches to distract them while you get your friend. I will create a larger distraction elsewhere and draw them away from you. Dawn will be coming soon and just keep moving with your friend towards the rising sun. I will meet you there sometime." Duin-Shiel nudged her as he spoke, urging her to go now. She hesitated.  
  
"Thankyou." She said and gave him a quick hug, then leaped right into the centre of the spiders. She never had been one for tact.  
  
***  
  
The spiders came towards her in swarms as soon as she cleared the forest edge. She swung her torch at them wildly, feeling like Aragorn at Weathertop. They shied away from it slightly, but not enough. Luckily, they seemed distracted somewhat, obviously Duin-Shiel's distraction was working.  
  
She turned around and ran towards Fred. Fred wasn't moving, or breathing from the look of it, A tear rolled down Chrissie's cheek, just hold on a little longer Fred; I'm coming. She felt a spider try to bite her ankle and she twisted around trying to kick it off.  
  
She threw her torch at it, forgetting there were hundreds more on the way. As soon as the torch hit the dry forest floor near the edge of the clearing, an entire side of the forest seemed to erupt in flames. Chrissie was thrown back from the heat wave and it took her several moments to get up again. She started crawling back towards Fred, regardless of the flames licking their way towards her.  
  
The spiders retreated from the flames, but Chrissie didn't notice the heat anymore, her full attention on getting to Fred. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked at Fred's lifeless body lying there under a log. Memories flashed in front of her eyes; her first meeting Fred when she was seven years old; staying up all night watching Buffy and X-Files videos together; going to the cinema with Fred; endless memories of laughing and crying together. She was determined they would not be the last.  
  
As she approached Fred, her tears turned into hysterical sobs. Her clothes were torn and slashed, blood leaking from cuts all over her and her ankle was a mess. She lifted Fred's head into her lap and brushed her hair from her eyes with her good arm, her other still being bandaged.  
  
"You're going to be alright Fred. You're going to live through this. Do you hear me?" She wiped a dirty hand across her face to brush away some of her tears. She hoped she wasn't lying. 


	11. CHAPTER ELEVEN : WAKING

CHAPTER ELEVEN - WAKING  
Duin-Shiel appeared out of the flames, covered in the blood and gore of the spiders. His blond hair reflected the red anger of the fire and mirrored that in his eyes. He took her hand.  
  
"We have to leave now."  
  
"I'm not leaving her. She's going to be alright."  
  
Duin-Shiel held his hand above Fred's mouth. Well, at least she was breathing, even if it was haggard and course.  
  
"I will carry her, but if we do not leave now, we will all die." With that Duin-Shiel picked up Fred's limp form into his arms and motioned Chrissie in front of him. She staggered through the flames and falling shrubbery in a daze, hardly seeming to care.  
  
An idea flashed through Chrissie's mind.  
  
"Wait. Put her down."  
  
"But." Duin-shiel tried to interrupt, tried to say it was too dangerous to stop, but Chrissie interrupted him before he had the chance.  
  
"Do it."  
  
He placed Fred carefully on the ground and Chrisse knelt over her. She whispered into her ear:  
  
"Fred, eme Chrissie. Lasta beth nin, tolo don ngalad." She stroked a stray piece of hair from Fred's closed eyes. If it could work for Arwen, it could work for her now.  
  
Fred took a deep breath and her eyelids fluttered and opened for a moment.  
  
"Chrissie? What are we doing here? Is this one of Kelly's practical jokes?" Fred stuttered out.  
  
Chrissie laughed and pulled Fred into a hug. She gestured to Duin-Shiel and he picked her up once more.  
  
"We're going to a safe place Fred. Don't worry, this is Duin-Shiel. He's an elf."  
  
***  
  
A group of students watched from across the road as their school was demolished.  
  
"Shouldn't we say something? Like, goodbye school we'll miss you." A guy with ginger hair said.  
  
All the others turned and looked at him.  
  
"Chris, what are you on man? This is great; it's like an extended holiday! We just came to see the school get wasted." Said a guy wearing a black hoodie.  
  
Chris mentally winced and tried to shrink. He never had got the hang of this being cool thing.  
  
The others around Chris deeply nodded at the hooded guy's words, and then spontaneously cheered on the demolishing team.  
  
***  
  
An Elven patrol met the party soon after noon, Fred managing now to limb along being supported on one side by Chrissie and the other Duin-Shiel. They took them into the healing rooms in the palace of Legolas's father, Thranduil and it was not until the following morning when any of them woke up. They had all been exhausted when they'd arrived.  
  
Chrissie woke up with a start, her first thought wondering where Fred was. She looked over to find Fred on the next bed along and almost as if reading her mind, Fred woke up. She gave her a little wave and winked.  
  
Chrissie got out of bed, still feeling the bruises and cuts she'd received over the past weeks, but never the less perfectly mobile. Her arm was still bandaged across her chest and her staking wound still tore every time she moved. She came over and sat on Fred's bed.  
  
"How do you feel?"  
  
"What? Oh okay I suppose, since I've been caught by spiders twice, poisoned by river water and comatose, bitten, slashed and I haven't eaten anything for ages, I'm fine."  
  
Chrissie frowned, she had gotten off rather lightly compared to Fred.  
  
"Well I can cure the hunger." Duin-Shiel came into the room carrying a tray of goodies.  
  
Chrissie's eyes lit up on seeing Duin-Shiel again.  
  
"Duin-Shiel, it's good to see you." Chrissie said, blushing slightly. Although Fred looked at her questioningly, she pretended she hadn't seen.  
  
Duin-Shiel came to sit on the bed next to Fred and offered her and Chrissie some of the fruit. Fred immediately dug in, followed on by Chrissie. The tray was soon emptied.  
  
The three talked long of their adventures; typically, Chrissie and Fred carried most of the conversation though. It was after sundown when Chrissie took a breath.  
  
Healers took the opportunity to enter the chamber and insist they all go to bed.  
  
***  
  
Fred laid awake on her bed and could tell by Chrissie's breathing that she was not asleep either.  
  
"Chrissie." She whispered and Chrissie turned over to face her. They giggled, before turning slightly serious.  
  
"Do you think we're alone here? I mean there were eleven of us in that classroom including Mr Brae. Do you think they'll are here as well?"  
  
Chrissie shrugged. "I have no idea, but it's exciting just being here though, isn't it? Can you honestly imagine what Mr Brae would do if he were here?"  
  
Fred laughed. She was glad they'd found each other at last. She'd been feeling quite lonely before she went unconscious.  
  
"What are we going to do now?"  
  
"Well you're not going anywhere looking like that, you like you've been in a fight with a feral cat and lost badly." Chrissie said sarcastically.  
  
Fred smiled. "You can really talk looking like that. I mean, Chrissie look at your fingernails and knuckles. Did all your fingers break?"  
  
"Most of them yeah, but my nails are worse, it's going to take months to get them back to a respectable length again."  
  
The girls laughed again. Chrissie always had been fanatical about her nails.  
  
After their laughter died down, they realised they really didn't have any idea of what they were going to do. Neither expected to be leaving Thranduil's hospitality anytime soon, especially given Fred's condition. So for the time being Chrissie and Fred relaxed in the protection and company of the Elves.  
  
***  
  
Kelly climbed to one of the small summits and looked out across the hilly countryside. She could only just see the White Tower of Minas Tirith in the distance now behind her, but neither could she see any sign of Edoras before her. She was following the curve of the mountains roughly, hoping to catch sight of the ancient city some time in the next few days.  
  
She'd been travelling for several days now and was beginning to run low on food. Although, she'd snitched quite a lot of apples and food from Faramir, it was not everlasting. Kelly had been out walking on numerous expeditions in the real world, but she'd always been within reach of civilisation, never too far from help. To be completely free this was dangerous, but also quite exhilarating.  
  
She numbed her excitement and tried to think seriously. There were many small rivers around she'd been drinking from, but there seemed no forested areas where she might be able to find food. That could be interesting, she thought since she had absolutely no experience in this kind of thing.  
  
Kelly smiled; she'd always been an optimist at heart and she thought things would be probably work themselves out sooner or later.  
  
*** Legolas's Flashback***  
  
Legolas was in his bedchamber when the messenger arrived.  
  
A Rivendell Elf made a quick bow to him after he'd barged in so urgently.  
  
"Lord Elrond has requested there be a council at Rivendell as soon as ever there can. Lord Thranduil has asked that you might go to represent the Woodland Elves."  
  
Legolas frowned, but agreed anyway. "I will be glad to go to Rivendell again."  
  
The messenger did not leave and Legolas raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Forgive me, my lord, but the message said as soon as ever you can and I was asked by your father to accompany you back there. Now."  
  
Legolas began re-buttoning his tunic and strapped on his long knives.  
  
"I will be at the stables in five minutes."  
  
The messenger nodded and left. Legolas grabbed his bow and scrawled a short note to Fred. He really had grown quite fond of her and to leave so suddenly with no explanation might seem rude. He passed it to one of the healers as he left, especially as he hadn't seen her since her return to his home.  
  
*** End Flashback ***  
  
Legolas was bent forward on his horse as he galloped over the leagues with the messenger from Rivendell. He thought often of his strange friend, Fred; he hoped she was alright, he had grown quite fond of her in the time they'd spent together.  
  
He often wondered why she'd asked him if he was going to Rivendell on the first day they'd met, and here he was ten days later going there. He smiled and looked back to the horizon.  
  
***  
  
Fred opened an eye and looked over at Chrissie. The dawn light was flowing freely through the windows but Chrissie seemed to be having some sort of nightmare. She kept mumbling something and trying to grab onto something in mid air that Fred couldn't see.  
  
All the horrors Chrissie might have experienced on her journey filled Fred's mind. What if Chrissie were traumatised for life?  
  
Chrisse mumbled, "Please don't make me do it again. I don't want to do any more titrations."  
  
Fred smiled. Everything was absolutely normal; just before their transportation, Chrissie had tried to do a titration and get two concordant results. She had done it seven times and still not got them and she often had nightmares about it.  
  
Fred threw a pillow at her and Chrissie woke up with a cry. She looked at Fred accusingly and then smiled.  
  
Chrissie was just about to speak when a healer came in with a letter.  
  
"Prince Legolas left this for you before he left." The healer said to Fred.  
  
"When did he leave?" She asked in a small voice.  
  
"The night before last, miss."  
  
She left the letter on Fred's bed, then seemed to float away. Fred snatched up the letter and began reading.  
  
"So, what's there between you and Legolas?" Chrissie said suspiciously.  
  
"Absolutely nothing.he's just very sweet, that's all. Speaking of this kinda thing, what's there between you and Duin-Shiel? You looked pretty close after I woke up." Fred eyed her suspiciously as well.  
  
Chrissie blushed. "Absolutely nothing." She said, copying Fred's line. "So come on, what does it say? It's not a marriage invitation is it?"  
  
Fred raised an eyebrow. "It says:  
  
I have been called to Rivendell for a Council with Lord Elrond immediately. I am sorry for my abrupt departure, but I must travel with all haste. I am glad to see you are alright and that your friend Chrissie is also.  
  
Farewell, Legolas"  
  
Chrissie glanced at Fred.  
  
"He must be going to the Council of Elrond." Chrissie said, looking at the parchment.  
  
"Yeah I suppose. So if he's only just gone to the council two days ago, we must be about half way through the book of the Fellowship of the Ring."  
  
"Do you think we'll still be here when the ring is destroyed? I mean, Kelly said that it actually took place over about two and a half years." Chrissie said, looking worried.  
  
"I don't know." For the first time the girls felt homesick.  
  
"Don't these Elves go to the Grey Havens soon? How long can we stay here?" Fred thought aloud.  
  
"Am I interrupting anything?" King Thranduil stood in the entrance to the room and the girls wondered exactly how much of their conversation he had heard. He continued:  
  
"I could ask you how you know about Lord Elrond's Council when only my son, the messenger and I know of it, or I could ask you how you know of the ring. But, I do not think you will tell me now, but we shall see, in time."  
  
Fred and Chrissie shared a long look. They guessed that answered how much of their conversation he'd heard. Worry etched in Fred's eyes and Chrissie understood why; that had sounded like a threat.  
  
*** 


	12. CHAPTER TWELVE : DOUBT

CHAPTER TWELVE - DOUBT  
Kelly sat and pondered underneath a tree. The rain was heavy around the outside of the tree's bough, but none of it penetrated its mighty arms. She snuggled against the trunk.  
  
She could see Edoras now in front of her, although it was probably at least another half a days journey to the front door, but now she was here, she didn't know what to do. It had taken her longer than expected to reach this point and her nerves had bitten at her every step of the way. She'd managed to convince Faramir she had Elven blood, but she wasn't sure if she could convince an entire city.  
  
It seemed in that moment that all her dreams crashed down around her. She knew it hadn't been more than about ten or so days since her *accident*, so it was late October. King Theoden wouldn't be liberated until early March.  
  
That was over four months away, she scolded herself. What was she supposed to do until then? She thought back over the events of the Two Towers. One of the early events was the burning of the Western Towns of Rohan.  
  
Her knee jerk reaction was to go there and try to help people as best she could. Get them to move away from their dwellings so they wouldn't be slaughtered in early spring.  
  
Her conscience immediately crushed the entire idea. What would happen if she changed the course of the events that led up to the destruction of the Ring? Perhaps by letting the people of Western Rohan live, thousands could die in another area from the orcs that were meant to be killing the people she had saved.  
  
She had to keep a low profile, she reminded herself. The events of the Back to the Future films, flashed in her mind. She didn't want all those complications. But then again, she couldn't survive without contact with someone, she had to eat sometime and she didn't have enough experience to hunt her own food.  
  
She looked over at Edoras again. It's Golden Hall stood tall and proud against the elements and Kelly wished she had some of it's confidence and courage. Two days ago she'd had the greatest confidence in her abilities and tons of optimism. She wondered where it had gone.  
  
She'd sat under this tree all afternoon she realised and most of the evening. She might as well stay here for the night now. She snuggled into her cloak and almost smiled at a scene that came to her from the Fellowship of the Ring.  
  
Frodo had said to Aragorn that with all this rough sleeping and mud all over him, soon he would look like Strider. Aragorn had said that it would take many years before he looked as Aragorn did.  
  
Kelly began to wonder if she would acquire that look.  
  
***  
  
Legolas looked up at the beauty of Rivendell as his horse approached it. It's beauty never seemed to fade. He had ridden as fast as he could with the messenger and had reached here much sooner than he would have normally.  
  
He spotted Arwen on one of the balconies and once he'd stabled his horse, went over to talk to her; they had been friends for many millennia now and were fond of each other.  
  
"Mae Govannen Arwen. It is good to see you again."  
  
Arwen turned and her eyes lit up. "Legolas; it is good to see you too."  
  
They shared a quick embrace, but something was distinctly different about both of them.  
  
"What troubles you Arwen?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question." She raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well cousin, since I asked you first, you should answer first."  
  
Arwen laughed. "I worry for a new friend I met just days ago. I wonder if she has met up with Fred yet." Arwen drifted off in thought.  
  
Legolas looked puzzled. "Yes, I believe she has. Fred arrived back with her friend Chrissie just before I left."  
  
Now it was Arwen's turn to be confused. "You know Chrissie?"  
  
"Well, no, but I know Fred. She saved me from a large Uruk-Hai nearly two weeks ago then left again. Her friend, Chrissie saved her from some spiders and brought her back to the palace just days ago."  
  
"I believe cousin, that there is more to this story than meets the eye." She winked at him and Legolas blushed slightly.  
  
"And what do you know of Chrissie?" He asked, anxious to change the subject. Arwen could be most perceptive at times.  
  
"She spent several days here after Glorfindel rescued her from a Ringwraith. He thought she was the Ringbearer." She said laughing.  
  
Legolas and Arwen exchanged a smile, perhaps there was more to these girls than met the eye.  
  
***  
  
The girls avoided any contact with Thranduil if possible the next day, not wanting to meet those cold grey eyes. No one had worked out that they knew exactly what was going to happen all the time, no one had put the pieces together that they knew more than they should.  
  
Duin-Shiel kept in fairly regular contact with them, although as Fred commented many times to Chrissie, his eyes often lingered on her. Chrissie would deny everything and scream blue murder, even though Fred couldn't see anything wrong with Chrissie having an Elvish boyfriend.  
  
They were sat outside on the grass when a fair Elf came and sat down with them.  
  
"My name is Slyvina and I'm getting married tomorrow. All the Elves here are going to be at the ceremony and I'd like you to know that you are invited too. I have heard stories of your bravery and you are both welcome at my table, even if you are out of favour with Thranduil.  
  
There will be several full days of celebrations and merriment afterwards, with dancing and music. I hope you will consider coming."  
  
Fred and Chrissie looked at each other. It could be embarrassing and awkward.but quite possibly fun. Since Chrissie seemed to not be able to produce words, Fred spoke up.  
  
"Yes, we'd love to.but we don't have anything to wear I'm afraid."  
  
"Oh don't worry about that. Come on, we have plenty of dresses to go around."  
  
Slyvina took their hands and pulled them back towards the Palace.  
  
Fred and Chrissie looked at each other. Why did it have to be dresses?  
  
***  
  
Chrissie opened her eyes and groaned. Slyvina had had Fred and her trying on dresses till the early morning and it seemed too soon that sunlight woke her up from her slumber.  
  
She still couldn't believe that they were really safe, that there were no Ringwraith, goblins or spiders after them. It seemed too good to be true.  
  
She looked at the pile of dresses on the chair across the room. Slyvina had insisted on them both occupying guest rooms of their own now that they were feeling better and Fred's was right next door.  
  
Chrissie could hear the floorboards creaking next door, which meant Fred was already out of bed! She had better get going if she wasn't going to be late.  
  
***  
  
It always took Chrissie quite a time to ready herself and Fred peaked silently through the door that connected the two rooms. This door was incredibly useful.  
  
She was planning a surprise for Chrissie and she whispered to the Elf behind her, "She's wearing sky blue." The Elf scuttled off and Fred entered the room, this time trying to be loud.  
  
"Are you ready yet, Chrissie. We're going to be late."  
  
"Nearly. I've just got to do my hair."  
  
"Chrissie, your hair looks fine. Get up, now."  
  
Chrissie looked over her shoulder at Fred.  
  
"Alright already." Chrissie said with a smile. Fred did not like to be late.  
  
The two girls exited the room together and quickly scampered down the hallways to the main hall, where they had been told last night the ceremony would take place. Fred nearly tripped over her dress several times but Chrissie managed to catch her arm.  
  
They peaked in through the doorway and Chrissie was quickly separated from Fred by strong hands. A hand covered Chrissie's mouth to stop her screaming. Fred gave her a little wave and a smile and hooked her arm around a short blonde Elf.  
  
"I hope you like your surprise." Fred whispered to her.  
  
Chrissie looked at all the other Elves around her talking quietly amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to what was happening to her.  
  
She panicked. Why was Fred smiling at her like that? Something bad was happening and she was scared.  
  
***  
  
tbiris: thanks, and I love it when Chrissie's in big trouble!  
  
MysticAnubisOFtheRING: Glad you think it's kool  
  
Chrissie: Kelly is not in the chapter because the next few focus on you and Fred, but don't worry because the few after that focus on Kelly. You think everything is mucky. Literal translation of mucky for everyone else: nasty.  
  
Fred: Glad you finally managed to review, Fred. And yes everyone this is the person you know as Fred!!!!! I didn't call Chrissie a corpse I called you a corpse (well, duh!)  
  
$$$$$$$$$$$4%%%%%%%: As I have said numerous times before and probably will say many times again, the fourth character is a closely guarded secret. Yes there is a fourth person in ME, I just haven't told you much about them. P.S I am building up the dramatic suspense type thing that my teacher once told me about.   
  
Chrissie: Well, in the hobbit the horses got eaten by goblins, and you never complained about that. And yeah I do think you would be majorly fussy about your nails.  
  
Lulu bell: See, someone noticed I was being suspenceful!  
  
Tbiris: Well it was meant to be a more seriously scary rather than funny scary chapter. Glad you liked it!  
  
Fred: I live for torture. Don't worry, Kelly has been getting off a little lightly in the last few days and will be morally tortured soon enough. She will also get beat up a few times so rejoice!  
  
Blob: You're entitled to your opinion and if you think it's a bad story, then don't read it. Fair enough.  
  
Rogue solus: The reporters are correct but I just haven't got around to telling the fourth character's story yet  
  
Fred: I enjoy being sadistic, it gives me a nice vibe. I disagree, I don't think Chrissie and Fred have been through nearly enough.  
  
Fred: I don't really think posting that review twice emphasized your point really Fred.  
  
Chrissie: I like the Chris bit too. In case you haven't worked it out, it means you basically blabbed away an entire day without letting anybody else say anything. I enjoy my exhileratedness.  
  
Tbiris: that's a good thing isn't it. But Thranduil could still make their lives very difficult if he decided to, as he did for Bilbo and his companions in the hobbit. I think Chrissie and Fred would probably scream and scream if Thranduil tried to send them back through the forest and over the mountains.  
  
Roswellwbfan: Glad you think it's funny!  
  
Roswellwbfan: Not sure exactly where that came from, but after seeing the real frodo, I think I said somewhere (4-7) that Chrissie wasn't that impressed.  
  
Psychoman364: I originally wrote it, thinking that the orcs would probably loot any armies they encountered after they killed them, and perhaps they could have stolen a normal blade. Very observant though, go you!  
  
Audrey: Thanks. Peace and grease to you to. *Shrugs and walks off in ignorance.* 


	13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN : MIXED BLESSING

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - MIXED BLESSINGS  
Chrissie felt the strong arms around her spin her around. She gasped as she realised who the arms belonged to and instantly scowled at Fred. It was Duin-Shiel.  
  
He was wearing a sky blue tunic, made to compliment her dress no doubt, but she studied the silver embroidery tracking his arms and torso. It really was a work of art.  
  
She felt very self-conscious as he led her through the crowds towards a vacant spot. Chrissie felt as if she might be getting married herself, she was certainly nervous enough for it.  
  
She couldn't understand most of the words being said during the ceremony, if you could call it that, but she noticed Fred almost bound from her seat as the word 'Galad' was mentioned, meaning light. Fred had a funny obsession with that word.  
  
Duin-Shiel gave her a brief translation as they went along, the ceremony talked of the Valar and of the making of the world, of life trees and eternal love. Well, she thought, Elf love really is eternal.  
  
"That's really beautiful you know, about their life trees intertwining because of their love." She whispered into Duin-Shiel's ear.  
  
He nodded. "Yes, it is."  
  
***  
  
The ceremony seemed timeless, but soon the celebrations began and Chrissie noticed that it was after sunset. A haunting yet mysterious melody began to drift into the room, but Chrissie couldn't seem to see who or what was playing.  
  
Before she could think about it anymore, Duin-Shiel pulled her into the centre of the room and began dancing. Other Elves were already doing so, in a slow melodic waltzy kind of way. It was beautiful to watch, but exhilarating to be a part of.  
  
Chrissie felt like she was flying, like her feet weren't even touching the floor as she moved.  
  
When Duin-Shiel finally steered her away from the dance floor, she realised just how much energy she'd used up; she was exhausted. She sat down on a nearby chair and saw Fred conveniently sitting down close by. Fred moved over next to her.  
  
"You planned all of this, didn't you?" Chrissie said to Fred accusingly.  
  
"Yes." Fred said, smiling triumphantly.  
  
Chrissie let a small smile cross her face. "Why you little." She started in a sarcastic voice but ended up hugging Fred.  
  
"Thank you." She whispered in her ear.  
  
Fred smiled and escorted Chrissie back up to her room. Chrissie turned just before she reached her door.  
  
"So what were you and that Elf doing over in that corner then."  
  
"Oh, nothing.nothing at all." Fred blushed.  
  
"Oh, really." Chrissie raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow." Fred escaped quickly into her room and burst out laughing. It had been the first time in Middle Earth when she'd really enjoyed herself, and by the look of it, Chrissie had too.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie burst through their connecting door as soon as the sunlight came through her window to find Fred already up and dressed. They talked excitedly about last night's events, feeling a small piece of the atmosphere resurface whilst they talked.  
  
"You are a deceiving little.little.something or other." Chrissie said, whilst trying not to laugh.  
  
"Ahh, but I'm a deceiving person who knows exactly when to give her best friend a kick in the back side."  
  
Fred joined in the laughter.  
  
"What's going on today?" Fred asked when the laughter had finally quietened down.  
  
"I don't know. I think it's a feast that goes on all day or something."  
  
Fred smiled. That was a good thing.  
  
There was a knock at the door and Duin-Shiel poked his head.  
  
"I tried your door but nobody answered. I presumed you'd be here." He said apologetically. Fred caught the serious look on his face and recognised her cue.  
  
"I'll see you downstairs Chrissie."  
  
Fred left the room and Chrissie felt herself sweating. This was intense.  
  
Duin-Shiel moved into the room and stood in front of her.  
  
"As much as I would like to remain here, I am still a King's man. A message must be sent to Lothlorien immediately regarding Mordor and I am the only messenger available."  
  
He searched her face whilst wringing his hands.  
  
"What I am trying to say is that I have to leave, now. It will take me four days at least to reach Lothlorien and a second four to return. I do not know if you will still be here when I return."  
  
Chrissie felt her face growing hot. What was she supposed to say?  
  
He felt for her hand and brought it up to his lips. He gave it a gentle kiss.  
  
"I have a duty to perform now, but I want you to know that I care for you."  
  
He waited for her to say something, anything. Her lips remained frozen. He let his hands drop to his sides and he walked glumly towards the door. He had thought he'd felt a connection between them last night, but obviously he was mistaken.  
  
"And I for you." She whispered. He turned and smiled. He walked back to her and brushed a hair from her face.  
  
"We may not see each other again for a long time, Chrissie, but I guarantee that if you will it, there will be a time and place where we will. Leave word for me with Thranduil if you leave and when I return I will come after you, if that is what you want. Aa' lasser en lle coia orn n' omenta gurtha."  
  
He gave her a final look and left, closing the door quietly behind him. Chrissie stood rigid in the centre of the room, unable to think, move or even to breathe. She did care for Duin-Shiel she realised, but it was a deep friendship and besides she hardly knew him.  
  
But it could be so much more.a little voice inside her said. She turned to the window and watched him gallop out of the Palace, images of everything that could happen in the future between them clouding her vision. His blonde hair streaked out behind him in the wind, contrasting with his black horse, Onyx.  
  
She watched him for a time, until it seemed that rain dashed in front of her eyes and she could no longer see him. It was not until Fred returned and Chrissie turned from the window that she realised that she was crying.  
  
***  
  
Kelly groaned. She'd finally realised that she had an analogue watch on and although she'd didn't know what use it could possibly be, she was determined to make it work. She was trying to pry the back off with her penknife, maybe try and drain out some of the water; but so far all she'd managed to do so far was cut up her hand where the blade kept slipping.  
  
She swore as the knife slipped again, slicing down the side of her hand, but began celebrating as the back came off about half a millimetre. Kelly pushed the knife under as a lever, then started whacking it. Eventually the cover popped off, along with some yucky kind of water and some things that looked like fish.  
  
"Ok." Kelly said to herself, moving away from the pile.  
  
She peered inside the watch, everything seemed alright now. She dabbed at some moisture that remained inside with her sleeve then pushed the cover back on. She turned over her watch and sure enough the little lights came on.  
  
She jumped up screaming and did a little dance around the tree, that she'd now made her *base camp*. Calming down, she looked at the date in the top left corner of the display and groaned. It read October 31st. Bummer.  
  
She slumped to the ground. That meant there was at least four months until the battle of Helm's Deep. She looked at the date again. They had disappeared on October 17th and today was October 31st. That was exactly two weeks in Middle Earth.  
  
It was like.an anniversary. Well, any excuse for a celebration then. She got up and did a little dance around the tree.  
  
Kelly fell to the ground and tried to mould her body against the trunk. She'd definitely heard something, or someone. She climbed carefully into the boughs of the tree and looked out across the road. A lone merchant rode a horse steadily up to the gates.  
  
I haven't had anything to eat for days, Kelly reminded herself and this rich man could probably spare a lot. A moral voice tried to speak up in her head as she began climbing the boughs of the tree, she'd tried to steal a horse in Minas Tirith and it had gotten her thrown in jail. Ahh, but she counteracted it; she'd gotten herself out of that pickle though, as she would this one.  
  
The man rode unsuspectingly right beneath her and Kelly drew her sword. She wasn't doing this for fun, she reminded herself, she was doing this to survive. She had no other choice.  
  
Kelly pulled the hood of her cloak up over her face and leapt onto the back of the merchant's horse.  
  
***  
  
Fred sat with Chrissie on the bed and stroked her back.  
  
"It's okay Chrissie, he couldn't have come back with you anyway. Just think, Elijah Wood and Keanu Reeves are waiting for you back home."  
  
Chrissie tried to smile and thought of all the times she'd denied that she felt anything for Duin-Shiel and it was only after he'd gone that she realised that everyone else had been right from the beginning. She did like Duin-Shiel and she did care for him.  
  
Chrissie wiped her eyes and got up, hearing Fred get up behind her. She was not going to sit here and cry all day over some Elf she barely knew.  
  
"Let's go down to the gardens." Chrissie no longer felt like attending the wedding feast.  
  
Fred nodded.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie took a long bow from the stand and nocked an arrow. She'd seen Orlando Bloom fire hundreds of these in the Lord of the Rings Films, she'd be damned if she wouldn''t at least try when she had the chance.  
  
Fred watched from the side lines as Chrissie fired one arrow after another and suppressed a smile as not one of them hit the target.  
  
Thranduil appeared behind her.  
  
"The Elves are leaving these shores, what will become of you?"  
  
Fred jumped at his silent approach. "We'll explore Middle Earth, see if all we've heard is really true."  
  
Chrissie desperately tried to pull an arrow out of a tree trunk, several metres wide of the mark.  
  
"Will you be alright? I mean, there is much evil afoot in Middle Earth now." Thranduil answered, fairly concerned about them.  
  
When the girls had first arrived, he'd found them annoying and childish. After the threat he'd made, he hadn't had much contact with them, but he'd watched them, and the impact they had on the Elves that lived with him, and they seemed so young and full of vitality, he had grown quite fond of them. He no longer cared how or what they knew, they seemed so innocent.  
  
The image of them alone in the wilderness was quite disturbing.  
  
Chrissie nocked another arrow and let it fly. It embedded itself into the centre of the target.  
  
"We have.hidden talents." Fred said smiling.  
  
Thranduil smiled and began to leave.  
  
"Will Duin-Shiel be leaving as well?" Fred said, calling him back, concerned for her friend.  
  
"He and I will be going to Rivendell after he returns with news from Lothlorien. The other Elves will be waiting for us there and we will all go on to the Grey Havens together. Although, depending on Duin-Shiel's news depends on whether or not I go."  
  
Thranduil paused in his discussion, he couldn't quite understand why he was talking about the fate of the Elves to Fred. He shook his head and walked off. 


	14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN : LUCK

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - LUCK  
"Westwood St Thomas School has now been completely demolished, but still no clue has been found as to the whereabouts of the missing children. Police have announced that since it has now been two full weeks, chances of recovering the students alive and well are now slim."  
  
***  
  
Kelly landed on the back of the Merchant's horse and held on for dear life as it reared up in panic. She took the opportunity to grab the merchant by the shoulder and slam her fist into the side of his head. Luckily for him he fell unconscious at the blow.  
  
After the horse had calmed down, she rolled the merchant gently off the horse and checked for a pulse. At least he was still alive she thought, as she raided his saddlebags.  
  
Kelly felt incredibly guilty mugging somebody, especially just leaving them here for goodness knows what to get at them. She turned and looked at the unconscious merchant again.she hardened her resolve. She couldn't possibly go into Edoras, for she knew what had happened last time she'd entered a city and had no desire to enter another one.  
  
She took a deep bite into the portion of rice bread she'd picked out of the bag. She had no choice.  
  
The merchant stirred and Kelly instantly drew her sword; she was getting quite jumpy these days. She knew she should hit him again, ensure that he didn't see her face or something, but looking at him lying there in a pool of his own blood, she pitied him.  
  
The merchant opened his eyes and looked up at her, long and hard. His eyes fixed on her drawn sword and he tried to stand up. He shook his head to try and regain some feeling in his muscles and walked towards her.  
  
***  
  
Kelly paused and her smile faded. The merchant was walking towards her now and all together with too much confidence for her liking. She didn't want to kill him, but she didn't think she could beat him either; he was well built and muscled and in a fair fight, she'd probably become a pulp.  
  
She grabbed the saddlebag from the floor and scooted left behind the tree, hands feeling the side of the trunk for footholds. Finding one, she started to climb up as quickly as she could, hoping that the Merchant was slowed down somewhat by his lapse of unconsciousness.  
  
Kelly was barely above shoulder height when the Merchant came crashing around the corner and she felt him grab her foot. She dug her fingers into the tree bark, trying to gain some kind of leverage to pull herself away from this man. But, Kelly had never had much luck and as she grabbed onto a branch with her outstretched fingers, it broke away, rotten. Kelly fell backwards into space and landed with a thump on the ground. She looked up to see the Merchant looking down on her. Damn, she thought, this was not good.  
  
***  
  
Kelly tried to struggle from the Merchant as he tied her around the tree, but it was no use. Whilst at first glance he looked skinny and tall, with a second glance you could see that his build was more like that of a tank. She was doomed; again.  
  
This scene had a certain sense of deja vu about it for her; it reminded her of the time she'd been captured by Faramir. That time she'd jumped off a cliff and then been thrown in jail; She wondered what fate awaited her now.  
  
The Merchant had built up a fire now and was sat cross-legged on the other side of the clearing to her, simply watching her. Kelly wondered if he knew she was a her.  
  
"Why did you try to steal from me?" The Merchant asked her. This person was obviously no ordinary marauder; they would not have hesitated to kill him when this person had.  
  
Kelly blushed and looked down at her attire. She was still wearing the same set of clothes she'd been wearing the day of her transportation, and still wore the Orc chest-plate. She glanced over to see her sword, long knife and satchel in a pile next to the Merchant. So, she still had her penknife.but as usual she couldn't actually reach it.  
  
Kelly decided that saying nothing would be wiser for someone like her, than to say anything. The Merchant noticed her gaze and picked up her weapons to examine them.  
  
"This sword was fashioned by Orcs, yet the knife by Men. Where did you get them from?"  
  
"I stole the Orc sword from a party I raided with a patrol of men. The knife was a gift." Kelly swore. She just couldn't help condemning herself.  
  
Well, it was almost true anyway.  
  
The Merchant nodded slowly and considered her words.  
  
"This sword bears the mark of the Stewards of Gondor."  
  
"It does? Yes, of course it does." Kelly tried to smile innocently, hoping he wouldn't know she'd lifted it from Faramir to pay him back for irritating her. She wondered if Faramir had noticed it was gone.  
  
"Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?" He cocked his head trying to understand the aura of mystery around this person.  
  
"I.I didn't want to." What was she supposed to say she thought, as a bead of sweat ran down her back.  
  
The Merchant raised an eyebrow. "What is your name?" He was beginning to have a suspicion of who this person really was.  
  
Should she tell him her name? Kelly's head spun.  
  
"My name is.Kelly." What could there be in a name?  
  
The Merchant smiled and moved towards and for a moment Kelly panicked. He cut her bonds with her own knife and then laid her weapons by her side.  
  
"I heard a story when I was in Minas Tirith about a reckless young girl who ran circles around Faramir's guard. I also heard this same person threw herself off a cliff, stole the Steward's horse and took on a patrol of Orcs. Would that be you?"  
  
Kelly blushed and leaned forward. "How did you know?" She whispered, a smile creeping onto her face.  
  
"You do not look like a man and I have only heard of one woman who might try a stunt like this."  
  
Kelly looked down to her lap and began rubbing the circulation back into her hands. She wasn't proud of what she'd tried to do.  
  
"Anyway, my name is Ordon. Let us start again." He stood up and held out his hand. She shook it firmly.  
  
"Pleased to meet you, Ordon." Kelly smiled. Perhaps there were men in Middle Earth that could be trusted.  
  
"So really, why did you try and steal from me?" He said, passing her a strip of smoked meat from his saddlebag.  
  
"Well I couldn't go back to Minas Tirith and I didn't really want to go into Edoras yet because Theoden's still enslav.after what happened last time I went in a city. I just didn't think I had any other choice."  
  
Kelly blushed. She couldn't believe what she'd nearly told him. A flicker of something crossed his eyes, but was gone before Kelly could identify it.  
  
"Well, no doubt I would have done the same in your place. You are forgiven, Kelly the reckless." Ordon said smiling.  
  
Kelly smiled back. Ordon may be old, with little wisps of grey snaking through his hair and a twisted grin, but she liked him. He reminded her of her dotty Uncle Patrick who had declared himself a peddler in the eighties and lived here and there in Cornwall ever since.  
  
"So, where are you headed?" Ordon continued.  
  
"Honestly, I have no idea. I'm supposed to be going to Edoras, but I'm not expected until late February."  
  
Ordon shrugged. "Well, you look like the sort of person that might be in need of some shelter for a few months and I have a friend in Edoras who I think you'll like very much. Are you interested?"  
  
Kelly looked at him in amazement. An hour ago she'd mugged this man and tried to kill him; now he was offering her food and shelter? Some people were unbelievable.  
  
"Sure, that would be great." She grinned, not knowing what else to do.  
  
Ordon smiled. People with no family or fate always had that same look and they were always so trusting. His smile widened. Maybe fate had brought him something special.  
  
***  
  
Kelly looked cautiously around her as she entered Edoras, expecting to see a guard run around the corner, sword drawn and ready to throw her in jail. It didn't matter that night was falling to give her a sense of camouflage or that Ordon was walking right next to her, leading his horse into the city as if nothing were amiss.  
  
It had taken almost the entire day to walk to the gates of Edoras; Ordon had quite a slow pace. Once in the city, they passed several houses until they reached a secluded cottage that seemed overgrown by the look of it.  
  
Ordon knocked twice on the door and a tattooed, smoking man answered. He looked them up and down slowly, blew a couple of breaths of smoke at them then gestured for them to come in. He threw the reins of the horse to a young lad that came running around from the back.  
  
Kelly coughed at the amount of smoke in the room and sat down on a rickety old chair at the table. Ordon seemed unfazed by the atmosphere and patiently waited for the return of the old man.  
  
When he returned, Kelly got a better look at him. He had long grey hair, bound into a ponytail at the back. He limped slightly on the left and his arms were thin and scrawny looking. He brought with him three tankard of a dark broth, which looked like ale but smelled like watered down piss.  
  
She took up a deep sip and wished she hadn't.  
  
The old man eyed Ordon suspiciously.  
  
"Is she trustworthy?" He croaked out.  
  
Ordon turned to her. "Show him your dagger, Kelly."  
  
Not knowing what any of this was about, or whether she was in over her head, she took the dagger from her boot and held it out to the old man.  
  
"Ahhh." He said stroking it. "This be of the Stewards of Gondor, Ordon. A personal dagger I would think, very hard to come by and very valuable." He shifted his gaze to Kelly. "How'd you get it?"  
  
Kelly hesitated and smiled proudly. "I took it from Faramir." The men raised an eyebrow. "He annoyed me. Ever hear the phrase 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' ?"  
  
The men shook their heads. Well now they had.  
  
The old man smiled and gave her back the dagger.  
  
"We have secrets girl, that would chill your blood. But we need to know that you're not going to go to him with them first. Do you swear?"  
  
Kelly nodded. Obviously these people were talking about Sauron. Of course, she wasn't going to tell him.  
  
"I swear."  
  
"All right." The old man and Ordon shared a glance. "I will give you something to protect you on your journey. Hold out your arm."  
  
Kelly saw him take out several needles and held out her left wrist. She clenched her fist.  
  
"This won't hurt a bit now girlie, but afterwards I'll tell you how to get your revenge."  
  
Kelly smiled politely. She wasn't exactly sure who she was supposed to be getting revenge on, but never mind. The old man dipped the needle in something that pricked it into her wrist.  
  
God, she thought; her Mum was going to be furious, she was getting a tattoo! 


	15. CHAPTER FIFTEEN : CHOICE

CHAPTER FIFTEEN - CHOICE  
  
Chrissie woke up to find sunlight already streaming through her windows. Fred had already filled her in on her talk with Thranduil and they had spent all of yesterday in the library pouring over stinky yellow maps.  
  
Since Chrissie had lost Arwen's map and they had no sense of direction between them, it seemed sensible to try and draw one out or something before they left. Also a decision on where they were going to go would be useful.  
  
Fred wanted to head to the Shire, reasoning that if they were going to stay in Middle Earth for any length of time, they might as well stay in the nicest place.  
  
Chrissie had argued that to get there, they would have to go through Mirkwood and back across the Misty Mountains, both of which held frightening memories for them both.  
  
After several hours debating they'd decided to give it up for the day, but Chrissie was meeting Fred back down there around noon. By the look of the sun in the sky, it was already past that.  
  
She hadn't slept well last night, all her dreams being filled with Duin- Shiel. She hadn't realised how much she valued his company and wisdom until he'd left. It bothered her that she didn't know what the last thing he'd said to her meant. She blushed as she remembered it. She supposed there were other things she missed about him too.  
  
She pulled on a straight tunic and fled down the hallway, nearly knocking over several Elves in the process to which she shouted a hurried apology over her shoulder. Fred was waiting impatiently when she arrived.  
  
"Had any bright ideas while you were asleep?" Fred raised an eyebrow sarcastically and Chrissie shot her a look.  
  
Chrissie looked at the map they'd spread on the table last night, but unfortunately it was still as vague and annoying as last time she looked at it.  
  
"We really only have two options for the present. Go through Mirkwood or go south and around it." Chrissie stated as she ran her finger along the routes.  
  
Fred shuddered. The scratches that lined her body were still not fully healed.  
  
"I say we go around it. I mean, sure it'll take longer, but it's not like we're in a rush."  
  
Chrissie followed the route down east of Mirkwood and looked westwards. "We'd have to go through the Gap of Rohan." She looked up at Fred.  
  
"We'll be real careful, but I definitely think that's the best plan. We could even stop off in Edoras and see if Theoden looks anything like Bernard Hill."  
  
Chrissie laughed. "Well, I don't think I want to go to Edoras really, but I agree. I must admit the thought of going back over the Misty Mountains gives me the creeps." She looked down at her knuckles, they were still lightly bruised from her fight for life. Her nails were still a terrible mess.  
  
"They'll grow back you know." Chrissie smiled and pointed a finger at Fred in warning.  
  
"Don't you start at me about my nails."  
  
The two girls laughed then began roughly copying the map onto a spare piece of parchment with their route marked.  
  
***  
  
The old man left the room with Ordon.  
  
"Why did you bring her here, Ordon?" He said accusingly. "We have enough runaways already."  
  
"She is different. She knows things, things she shouldn't be able to know. The guard I spoke to in Minas Tirith said she talked to Faramir about his private relationship with his father and we all know how hushed up that is. She started to say something of the enslavement of Theoden, but stopped. She could be useful."  
  
The old man glanced back through the open doorway at the young girl rubbing her wrist.  
  
"I'll admit she certainly has spirit. She could be good."  
  
***  
  
Kelly winced and looked at the red patch of skin on her wrist. She was eternally glad they hadn't hit a vein.  
  
"Well I'm impressed young lady, I'm sure most girls would be screaming and crying by now." The old man said as he re-entered the room.  
  
Kelly bit her lip and cracked her fingers to try and take her mind off the pain.  
  
"I'm not most girls and my name is Kelly." She hissed out. She was beginning to question her decision to follow Ordon here.  
  
"I can see that." The old man stared at her and blew another smoke ring at her. Seemingly satisfied he re-seated himself at the table and after a confirming glance from Ordon begun to tell his tale.  
  
"Ordon brought you to me for a reason Kelly, you are different than most people and belong with people who are like you. People who don't think you're strange for the way you act or the things you do. People who like you exactly the way you are and would willingly put their lives in your hands."  
  
Kelly's mind flashed images of every time someone had called her strange and it nearly gave her a headache. The old man was right. Society often turned it's nose up at her, it thought her freakish and eccentric. It thought women should be polite and fit into their role quietly. She'd even met a few feminists, but all they wanted was to be tolerated and make a fuss. Even the people in Middle Earth had trouble accepting her as she was. To be with people who were like her. She smiled slightly and listened as he continued.  
  
"The symbol you now wear on your wrist is a bat. Yes it is a creature of the night, but it survives through it's own initiative and that of other bats around it.  
  
You might find this difficult to believe but a war is brewing, a terrible war to end all others. We are the messengers, the wings of the night, just like the bat."  
  
Kelly smiled. It was not difficult to believe at all, she'd already read the book, seen the film and brought the t-shirt.  
  
"What you have to decide now Kelly, is which side you're going to choose. On one side is those who have always tormented you in the past, all those who believe they are the righteous and stand in their God's good books. All those who have thrown you in jail for doing what you believe in.  
  
On the other side however, are the people who will stand with you now when you need them the most. They won't throw you in jail or force you to throw yourself off a cliff. They have no qualms about gender and will not judge you for what you've done in the past. They will give you a home, somewhere to belong and train."  
  
The old man smiled, it looked as if his speech was certainly having the required affect on her.  
  
"Which side are you going to choose, Kelly? Are you going to stand with your new found brothers or shrivel and die with the weak?"  
  
The old man stood up slowly and held out his hand.  
  
Kelly paused. This was one of those life-changing decisions everyone was always talking about. Whatever she choose now could affect the rest of her life, especially if she was going to remain in Middle Earth.  
  
She thought of all the things that had happened to her since she'd come to Middle Earth, the way she'd been treated by everyone she'd met. Faramir was the worst of them all she thought, her eyes glazing over with fury. Everyone she'd met had either tried to kill her or to harm her in some way.  
  
These people had been kind to her, especially Ordon.  
  
Kelly took the old man's hand and shook it firmly.  
  
"I stand with the strong."  
  
***  
  
Kelly lay on a bed of reeds out in the back of the cottage. Her conscience seemed to think she'd made the wrong decision that she should have just escaped as soon as possible. However, since she rarely listened to her conscience she tried to just not think about it.  
  
Her decision had been made now, for better or for worse. Whatever kind of pact had been made in there, it was done now and she would stand by her word, even if it was foolishly given.  
  
For the first time since she'd come to Middle Earth she felt as if she belonged and was safe. She'd been on the run from something for most of her time now and to just lay down to sleep without worrying felt wonderful.  
  
Whoever these people were and however they made their money, they would protect her as one of their own to the death and she'd never known that kind of loyalty.  
  
She smiled. Even if her fighting style wasn't exactly tried and tested, she would fight as best she could for anyone else who bore the symbol.  
  
Anyway, if she didn't like it here, she could always retreat back to the Elves and find a way home.  
  
*** 


	16. CHAPTER SIXTEEN : DISCOVERY

A/N: Since quite a lot of people are getting confused, I thought I better explain a few things.  
  
Ordon is a recruiter for the *brotherhood* of Sauron, a network of spies through out Middle Earth that regularly report to him. Bill Ferny is an example of a member.  
  
Naïve as she is, Kelly hasn't actually fully comprehended what she's gotten herself into yet. These people were nice to her when everyone else was not, and they seem to understand her in a way no one else does. It's a bit like a stranger offering a child a lolly to convince them to follow him. The child doesn't understand the danger.  
  
The old man is basically a pain in everyone's arse, but has been in the service since before Ordon was born. He knows just about everything about Middle Earth and is rumoured to possess a palantir to contact Sauron directly.  
  
The brotherhood operates by enticing runaways into their clutches, training and more often then not brain washing them into serving Sauron. They are very perceptive of what people want the most and in Kelly's case, it's someone to understand her.  
  
Most well versed people in Middle Earth know of the brotherhood in one way or another, although not all believe the rumours. The bat is feared by all except the Firstborn  
  
Hope things are slightly clearer, on with the story.  
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - DISCOVERY  
Kelly hadn't known that fighting would be this diffifcult. After she'd woken up that morning, Ordon had taken her to a small basement type window below the Golden Hall and ushered her inside. She'd landed in a long dark hall stretching the length and breadth of the Golden Hall right above it.  
  
Weapons were fastened to the walls and about fifteen or so people loitered around, some sharpening blades, others eating a scrap of bread. All of them bore the bat on their left wrist.  
  
She'd spent the rest of that day training and the day after too. She sat against the cold stonewalls now and looked around her. Yesterday she'd been an outcast here, but today she was welcomed.  
  
***  
  
Karth watched his *students* practising and smiled. He had been recruited many years ago, just as they had been only days ago. It was convenient to have such a large space under cover, even if it was only metres below Theoden King's Hall.  
  
His eyes passed over each of the youths, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. His eyes fell to Kelly.  
  
She wasn't the strongest or fastest amongst them, but she certainly had plenty of rage to cover up those facts and give her a passion to train. Ordon hadn't said why she had been chosen, but then again he never did.  
  
There was sometimes a far away look in her eyes, like she was sometimes completely somewhere else. He wondered if that place was better or worse than where she was now.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie laughed out loud. She'd been playing an old Elven game with Fred for the past two hours and she hadn't won once. She had finally managed to beat Fred's superior thinking and she did a little dance.  
  
They'd been down in the library again for most of the day, since there was some kind of celebration going on in the Main Hall, but it was an Elven thing really and they didn't want to intrude. Also Thranduil was hanging around a lot and Chrissie had the distinct impression he was trying to recapture his youth or something.  
  
They'd been nosing through the books when they'd come across an old game that looked remarkably like Backgammon. Unfortunately, since the instructions were in Elvish, they'd had to guess how to play from the few words they could decipher.  
  
Chrissie sat back in her chair and let out a deep breath. They'd played this game way too many times now.  
  
"What do you want to do now?" Chrissie asked, making it clear she was bored.  
  
"You know that we want to leave and we're bored here. Let's do something drastic and impulsive. Let's go tomorrow morning." Fred said with an adventurous gleam in her eye.  
  
Chrissie looked shocked. She hadn't been expecting that.  
  
"Leave? Tomorrow? I mean that's.soon."  
  
"I know what you're thinking Chrissie, but Duin-Shiel won't be back for at least another five days and by then I think we'll both be potty with boredom."  
  
Chrissie shifted uneasily. "Okay. But if we're going to go, let's make sure we're ready. We have to make sure we have everything prepared."  
  
Fred smiled and pulled Chrissie out of her chair towards the door. They had a lot to do in twenty-four hours.  
  
***  
  
Duin-Shiel rode without pause through the Elven Patrols guarding Caras Galadhorn. They knew he carried important news and stepped from his path to let him pass.  
  
He tossed the reins of his horse to a waiting Elf and ran up the steps to the council chamber three at a time. He stopped outside the door and ran a hand through his hair, straightened his tunic and took a deep breath. He knocked politely and crept in.  
  
Several Elves were present, some he recognised from Rivendell and ones that were primarily from Lothlorien and others he did not recognise. They had a certain look about them and it made Duin-Shiel wonder if they had spent large amounts of time living amongst men.  
  
He took a seat gestured to him by Lord Celeborn and listened attentively as the council continued. When they finished their discussion of the news from Rivendell, Duin-Shiel spoke of Thranduil's words and memorised Lady Galadriel's wisdom in return.  
  
He rose to leave but Galadriel motioned him back.  
  
"I think there is something else you would like to hear, Duin-Shiel."  
  
He frowned and looked puzzled, wondering if it could be something to do with Chrissie.  
  
Lord Celeborn leaned forward in his chair. "You say that you met with the ones called Chrissie and Fred, and you say that they supposedly come from far away, so far indeed that no one has heard of them."  
  
Duin-Shiel nodded, as Celeborn continued.  
  
"Laneth has also heard of such a character also. Laneth, if you would please."  
  
The Elf named Laneth stood and looked around nervously. He still felt awed in the presence of Lady Galadriel and he was not used to speaking in public yet.  
  
"I visited the cities of Minas Tirith and Edoras before journeying here, carrying messages for the Elves from the Steward of Gondor. He said also to be on the look out for a fiery young woman from a far off land. His son, Faramir, claimed to have caught her twice but to have her escape and it was said she knew things about the private affairs of the brothers and their father.  
  
She has been seen on the outskirts of Edoras as recently as three days ago, but the guards of the city say she entered with Ordon."  
  
"What name does she go by?" Duin-Shiel said anxiously, hoping to recognise it and return to Chrissie with the news.  
  
"Kelly."  
  
Duin-Shiel paused and searched his memory. Chrissie had spoken of many of her friends in their time together, but the name Kelly did seem to be very familiar, but he would have to confer with Chrissie and also Fred to confirm it.  
  
"I believe she is of the same clan as both Chrissie and Fred, for I believe they have often spoken of her and her.eccentricities. But tell me, Laneth, who is this Ordon?"  
  
Laneth shrunk back against the wall and looked at the Lady Galadriel for some kind of support. Although he hated to be the bringer of bad news, her smile radiated with reassurance.  
  
"He is well known by the Stewards of Gondor and the Lords of Rohan as an ally of Sauron. Little is known about him, but all those that follow him bear the symbol of the bat and are loyal to him to the death. It is believed that he corrupts people into the service of Sauron, but there has never been any proof of anything."  
  
Duin-Shiel gasped. A friend of Chrissie's, in league with Sauron? He looked up to Lady Galadriel, but before he could speak she smiled and dismissed him.  
  
"Ride swiftly with your message, Duin-Shiel. But return south of Mirkwood instead of through it, and then turn north to your homeland with all speed."  
  
Duin-Shiel nodded. "I will mi'lady."  
  
A waiting Elf presented him with some waybread for the journey and the reins to his horse and Duin-Shiel galloped back into the retreating night not one full hour before he'd arrived.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie: You always think I'm icky and you always think of Elijah anyways. You couldn't produce words cos you were so surprised. I liked the dresses bit too.  
  
Fred: Kelly does have a conscience, it just doesn't show itself that often. Also, notice the long morality and guilt thing in the chapter.  
  
Tbiris: Well, I wouldn't say they were exactly *called* to Middle Earth, it was more of accident. (hence the title) Although, there is kinda a reason why they are here, but I don't think it's apparent just yet.  
  
Psychoman364: Maybe it could happen, maybe. Thanks for the comment thought. Will update soon.  
  
Kat Heiman: Thanks and I decided to take the opportunity to tear down the school. (mirrors my dreams)  
  
Chrissie: Kelly has told lots of lies, but then again, in her place wouldn't you have done the same?  
  
Freddie loves Frodo: Ok just for everyone who doesn't know, this is Fred's new account! I love the arrows thing too, I could see it and everything! Sorry I made you cry but it's an emotional chapter.  
  
Freddie loves Frodo: Kelly is always in trouble. She's just always in the wrong place at the wrong time and has the worst luck in the world.  
  
Tbiris: Huh? If you're on about Duin-Shiel getting to Lothlorien then that's in this chapter, if you're on about Legolas talking to Arwen, that was in c12. I haven't continued any other bits of their conversation though. If you're on about something else, then sorry you lost me there ;)  
  
Lily of the Shadow: Well it would be a boring shadow if they didn't get knocked around.  
  
Freddie loves Frodo: Their not exactly Kelly's people, but they understand her a whole lot better than most people, which is probably why she was drawn to them.  
  
Butterfly: I'm flattered and sure you can. Although I would like to know the address of the site though, just for curiosity's sake. You can copy it off the chapters, or if you want a complete archive, just give me a bell.  
  
Chrissie: Those words have a double meaning. I think you can guess what I am implying, although what I meant was that you missed his sense of direction.  
  
Tbiris: Thanks for letting me know, hope my a/n at the start illuminated things a little. If you want a bit more explanation, just give me a bell. 


	17. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN : CONFRONTATION

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - CONFRONTATION  
Kelly let out a deep breath and tried to focus. She was mentally and physically exhausted, yet it kept her pre-occupied. She had the feeling that if she'd had any time to think she'd be scolding herself about her decision or something equally frustrating. Like getting home.  
  
She parried another blow on her sword, but was caught off guard by a quick swing at her thigh. Kelly fell back onto the ground and wiped the blood from her trousers. It was good these things were fairly blunt.  
  
She looked behind her to see where a sudden yelling was coming from. Karth, the apparent instructor, had picked a boy up off the ground and was slapping him across the face. The boy couldn't be more than eleven.  
  
Kelly pulled herself to her feet.  
  
"Why don't you leave him the hell alone?" She said, almost shouting. The others in the class stopped silently; no one had spoken out at Karth before. Perhaps they had been right when they'd said she was different. Or perhaps they just had some sense.  
  
Kelly was breathing hard now. Her mind was screaming at her that she'd now made another one of those bad decisions, the ones that usually involved a potentially fatal situation.  
  
She stood her ground as he dropped the boy and walked purposefully towards her. She watched him study her; he was looking for weaknesses.  
  
"Why are you still wearing that piece of orc junk? Your strengths are your passion and quick movements; you're being held back."  
  
Kelly paused and looked around the room. She'd been wearing this to shield off any stray blows that might come her way. She corrected herself; these people were closer to her than brothers and there would be no stray blows from them. But she couldn't be sure about Karth, he'd read her insecurity like a book.  
  
It was also the only thing that had survived her entire journey with her. Her clothes had torn and been replaced now, weapons stolen, taken and replaced with foreign ones.  
  
She undid the ties at the back and threw the plate against the wall. She felt odd without it's safety net, yet strangely free. She smiled and turned back towards her sparring partner, purposely ignoring Karth.  
  
"No. With me." Karth said loudly enough for everyone in the room to turn and watch them again.  
  
Kelly took a deep breath and turned to face Karth. His face was incredibly white, yet his hair the darkest shadows of the night. However, it was his eyes that frightened her the most, sometimes they were sky blue and others the colour of stormy seas. This was definitely some kind of challenge and she gulped thinking about it.  
  
She kept her sword at her side, thinking of all the moves he hadn't taught her. She'd once wrote a Fanfic about someone in her position before and the only way to just break even with your teacher was to use moves they hadn't taught you.  
  
Karth nodded briefly towards her. That was the signal for beginning she guessed and barely caught the tip of his blade as it plunged straight for her neck. She stepped deftly to the side, her movements feeling faster and more natural without the clumpy orc armour.  
  
Kelly spun on her heel and ducked to the ground, lunging out at his ankles as she balanced precariously on the balls of her feet. He dodged clumsily and she sprung to her feet, going to her right instead of her usual left. She'd seen him watching everyone, figuring out their patterns and weaknesses. He was not going to have that advantage over her.  
  
She spun and lunged her sword at his stomach and everything slowed. The world around her dimmed until her whole world was just her and Karth, and all that mattered was to beat him. She tried not to think about what she was doing, simply reacting to his strikes and passes; she smiled. Her teachers had always told her she thought too much and here she was in Middle Earth realising her potential.  
  
She suddenly understood the stories she'd been told of the bloodlust of battle.  
  
***  
  
Karth swept a low pass beneath her, hoping to catch her off guard but she jumped nimbly into the air inches above the blade. When he'd challenged her, he'd thought her an easy fight, never expecting anything of this level, especially from the fights he'd watched her do.  
  
He was proud of her he realised. This was only her third day of training, yet during this fight she'd progressed more than most of the others put together. His brief moment of speculation cost him as she held her sword at his throat and pressed him to walk backwards. He hit the wall of the Hall.  
  
She pressed the sword close enough to draw blood and she was slightly twisting the blade, seemingly fascinated by the way he winced beneath her touch.  
  
She smiled and whispered in his ear. "You leave them alone."  
  
Kelly let out a deep lung full of air as she walked towards the back room reserved for sleeping. She had a triumphant smile about her, her mind having a celebration in her head. She collapsed down on the sack of rushes she'd claimed for sleeping and went straight to sleep. She'd celebrate later.  
  
***  
  
Karth stood pinned against the wall for several long minutes after Kelly had left, restrained by the shock of her winning holding him there. He shook himself loose of the intensity of her gaze and physically growled at those still watching him. He stomped across the hall to the basement window and crawled out in a temper. He was going to speak to Ordon right now.  
  
***  
  
As Karth went onto the warpath and Kelly lay exhausted from her confrontation, Fred and Chrissie made their last goodbyes to the house of Thranduil.  
  
Chrissie mounted up her horse and watched Fred do the same. When the horses began walking steadily south away from the palace, Chrissie turned a final time to see the Elves waving. She smiled and waved back.  
  
She looked over to Fred who seemed to be having trouble with her horse. Thranduil had gifted them with very spirited horses apparently. The problem was that the horses only understood Elvish, and the only Elvish riding command Chrissie and Fred knew was faster. They had no idea where the brakes were on these things.  
  
"So, how long until we get to the shire?" Chrissie asked Fred impatiently.  
  
Fred laughed; Chrissie really hadn't paid any attention when they'd planned their route.  
  
"In about two days time we'll reach the bottom of Mirkwood and turn West, and then it should be about four or five days to the Gap of Rohan. After that maybe two and a half weeks northwest to the Shire. So.just over three and a half weeks. Possibly only three if we hurry."  
  
Chrissie groaned and Fred laughed again. She really was very impatient.  
  
***  
  
And so life went on peacefully for them that day, the sun peeking through the clouds on occasions and a gentle breeze coming from somewhere to the east. Chrissie and Fred laughed during their ride about everything that had happened to them, memories of terror and death being buried.  
  
The only evidence of the girl's ordeals was the occasional flicker of their eyes across the hills, or a slight jump as a squirrel stepped on a twig. It seemed almost too happy.  
  
They camped awkwardly, at first wanting to climb the trees then after Chrissie demanding adamantly that she would fall, they camped about a half- mile from the entrance to the woods. Fred was extremely wary about camping anywhere near those woods.  
  
And she had a right to be.  
  
*** 


	18. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN : PSYCHOLOGY

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - PSYCHOLOGY  
"Welcome to the special edition of Crimewatch, tonight lasting a complete hour."  
  
A dumb blonde presenter walks into the scene with a fake expression of sympathy on her face.  
  
"We are here today to appeal for any information regarding the four missing teenagers, who disappeared two and a half weeks ago in Westwood St Thomas School, Salisbury."  
  
A photo appears on the screen of what Westwood used to look like.  
  
"Detectives are now positive that the teenagers are not on the premises, having blown up the majority of the building to investigate the old war tunnels. However, still no trace has been found of the children anywhere.  
  
To try and jog people's memories, we will today, report live from the school where most of the students and teachers were transferred to and present a small profile of each of the missing students."  
  
Chrissie's school photo from Year 11 appears. She looks dazzled.  
  
"Chrissie Frenzie was an active student in the sixth form, always making her voice known. She took biology, chemistry, psychology and health and social care at Westwood, and hoped to become a psychologist in later life."  
  
The photo changes to a picture of Chrissie, Fred and Kelly on the day they left lower school. They're all covered in signatures and goodbyes and even though it's raining outside, they're all laughing.  
  
"She is described by her fellow students as talkative and friendly, and was also quite knowledgeable on celebrities. In her spare time she read many horror books and enjoyed many teen programs such as Smallville and the X- Files."  
  
The reporter moves and shoves her microphone practically into the mouth of a passing teacher.  
  
"What was your opinion of Chrissie Frenzie?"  
  
The teacher, known to students as 'Dave' since he refused to give his true name, tried to back away from the flashing lights. Slight of build and a right sissy really, he mumbled out something.  
  
"She was very nice.I.I have to go now."  
  
Dave promptly drops the folders he's been carrying and runs off screaming in the opposite direction. The reporter seizes the camera and pulls it back towards her and smiles so hard you'd think her face would split.  
  
A school photo appears of Fred in Year 11. She looks intimidated by the camera.  
  
"Fred Morose was a quieter member of the community, but I am assured she could become quite angry if provoked. She took biology, English, psychology and health and social care and hoped to become a nurse in later life.  
  
She is described by her fellow students as someone quite knowledgeable on the world of cinema and an up and coming impressionist. In her spare time she keeps guinea pigs, rabbits, several cats and a dog. She also enjoys watching Angel and the X-Files."  
  
The reporter grabs an unsuspecting teacher coming out of the staffroom and learning from her mistakes, firmly grasps onto his shoulder. Ironically, the teacher is Mr Brae.  
  
"What was your opinion of Fred Morose?"  
  
Mr Brae looks up and suddenly realises he's on TV. The reporter scents the heavy smell of whiskey on his breath and takes a small step away from him.  
  
"Who are we talking about? Oh, Fred. Who's that." He pauses and turns to the reporter.  
  
"One of the missing students, Mr Brae. You taught her for several months. Biology, remember?"  
  
Mr Brae takes his head in his hands and gives it a good scratch, looking oddly like a drunken Winnie the Pooh. Except Winnie the Pooh is cool. He also begins to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet.  
  
"Oh, yeah she was always working and I think she jumped a lot."  
  
The reporter hurriedly realises that Mr Brae has absolutely no idea what she's on about and quickly moves on.  
  
Kelly's school photo from Year 10 appears. She looks bored. (She never came to her Y11 one)  
  
"Kelly Ravenwood was one of the risk takers in the community and always seemed to be planning a parachute jump, expedition or some death-defying stunt. She took biology, chemistry and Information Technology and hoped to become a.umm just travel the world in later life."  
  
A picture of Kelly on her first expedition comes up. It's several minutes before the end of the expedition and even though it's pissing with rain, as it has been for the last six hours, Kelly appears to be dancing in it to provide entertainment for her fellow explorers.  
  
"Her fellow students describe her as eccentric, a Lord of the Rings encyclopaedia and a budding slash Fanfic writer. In her spare time she reads fantasy, runs a website and plans more death defying stunts."  
  
Grunting with annoyance, the reporter grabs a teacher on the way to the canteen. It's Mrs Warmsly.  
  
"What do you want?" She almost growls. Seeing the TV crew, she instantly smiles.  
  
"What was your opinion of Kelly Ravenwood?"  
  
Mrs Warmsly pauses and closes her eyes slightly as she does.  
  
"She was a wonderful student and we always supported her in whatever way we could."  
  
"Do you know who we're talking about, Madam?" The reporter looks disbelievingly. Either she's mad or delusional, or quite possibly both.  
  
"Yes, we're talking about Kelly Harding."  
  
The reporter shrugs and turns back to the camera.  
  
A photo appears of the fourth missing teenager, but Mr Winchif turns off the television.  
  
"Bloody kids." He shouts at the television as he throws the remains of his whiskey at it. "I could have done wonders for this school you know, but they had to go and get themselves kidnapped, or run off to protest against something or other. They're probably off enjoying themselves somewhere you realise."  
  
His secretary walks in from the kitchen and begins absentmindedly stroking his hair. Funnily enough, after the contents of his desk had been examined, he hadn't been offered a new job anywhere and neither had she. It was strange, she'd always thought people were more open minded about porn videos these days, but obviously not.  
  
***  
  
millybob: Yes you are going to leave the next day, yes I like the idea of Thranduil recapturing his youth and well the thing is you do tend to ramble on a bit, so perhaps you mentioned Kelly somewhere along the line to Duin- Shiel? Who knows?  
  
Hannah: Thanks, I like to have a plot going, otherwise it gets kinda boring and clichéd. Do you want me to just email you when I update (cos its usually saturadays and tuesays) or actually attach the chapters?  
  
The Outcast: Oh, definitely. She'd have a small tiny thought about parachutes, then probably think you thought she was hesitating and do it just to prove you wrong  
  
Freddie loves frodo: I think you have more of a strategic mind than Chrissie, which is why you're better at backgammon.  
  
Lily of the Shadow: Well it's a common thing for Kelly, but we'll have to wait and see.  
  
Trinity: ??? If you gotta go, you gotta go.  
  
Tbiris: You lost me.what bit are we on about?  
  
Tbiris: French and elvish?? Hmmm, Elvish good, French bad.  
  
Soul: SSShhhhh! Don't give anything away. Not sure about Kelly and Faramir though, he just seems to piss her right off.  
  
Freddie loves Frodo: Thankyou!!!! Yeah, Kelly's real violent, but it's usually when people just piss her off and she has to vent her rage.  
  
Menegliniel: Thanks, it was supposed to be a suspenseful chapter. More today and Saturday  
  
Millybob: You are that impatient and Kelly was very angry and you have not seen her really angry before (yet). Watch this space.  
  
Butterfly: Thanks for the compliment, but I did say at the end of C16 that you could use Accidental as long as it is properly credited. I'm gonna email you anyway though just in case you don't read this.  
  
Butterfly: Looks like the same review again. Oh well. 


	19. CHAPTER NINETEEN : CONVICTION

CHAPTER NINETEEN - CONVICTION  
Karth flew in a blind rage towards Ordon's small house, little caring who saw him in this mood. He hadn't been out of the training hall in over a year now and although the midday sun near blinded him, his rage saw him through.  
  
He burst through Ordon's door, not waiting to knock and nearly barrelled the merchant over. He grabbed the man by his throat and lifted him clear of the ground.  
  
"I want her out! You know who I mean, the new girl, Kelly."  
  
The merchant's eyes glazed over with lack of oxygen and Karth dropped him to the floor. Although Ordon stood well over six feet tall and built like a tank, Karth was built like an apache; swift and deadly with only one weakness. Kelly had hit home on his; pride.  
  
Ordon rubbed his throat and took a seat at the table.  
  
"She is important to him." Ordon whispered, knowing the effect of his words and smiling.  
  
Karth visibly fumed. "She can't stay here."  
  
"Fine." Ordon gestured him to sit and he did so reluctantly. He shouted and a small boy ran into the room. Ordon whispered something into his ear and the boy ran out into the market place.  
  
"It is time we learned something useful from her, but tell me, what has she done to cause such a reaction from you? The earth could shake and you wouldn't even blink, yet this girl, this one girl has managed to completely disarm you."  
  
Karth growled but related the story.  
  
***  
  
Kelly grabbed the intruder by the shoulders and nearly threw him across the room. She opened her eyes to find a small boy no older than seven looking like he was going to pee himself. She put him down and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.  
  
The boy gestured for her to follow and she noticed others watching her as she followed the boy towards the basement window that led back towards the market place. Many glances her way were sympathetic, but a few reflected pride. It seemed her earlier actions had made her a few friends, even if she could feel the beginnings of several bruises on her joints.  
  
She walked through the marketplace with her eyes cast down. Her mind still struggled to sift through the morning's events and her body still tried to blend into the crowd, still thinking that perhaps someone might recognise her and hand her over to the guards.  
  
The boy ran into Ordon's house and Kelly took a deep breath. She was not ashamed of her actions and she would face whatever punishment Ordon deemed necessary. Although she'd stemmed a slight fear of prison cells since her long imprisonment and she would do *anything* to avoid returning to one. However, since she'd met him, she considered him a fair and just man.  
  
As she entered, she stood her ground against the glare of Ordon and Karth. It seemed the Old Man had joined them also, even though she never had learned his name.  
  
"I won't ask how you know the things you do, Kelly, but I ask that you share some of what you do know with us. Our sources tell us that the Ring of Power has been found and that it resides in Rivendell with a half-ling."  
  
The Old Man paused, judging her response. "We are your brothers, Kelly. We took you in when no one else cared, when everyone else wanted you dead." He added for emphasis.  
  
***  
  
Kelly sighed. It continued to amaze her how much she'd changed in the past few weeks. She had realised over the past few days that the enemy was not Sauron as she had initially thought. He was her protector now, the only one that hadn't abandoned her.  
  
She had learned from others in the training hall that anyone of mortal birth would fear the mark and bend to her will without much persuasion. Kelly also heard that the first-born, the Elves, killed anyone bearing the mark on sight. Kelly had despaired at the news, as the only way she'd thought of getting home was reaching some Elven safe hold and seeking their wisdom.  
  
She'd tried to think a hundred times about a way round it, from painting over it to actually cutting the damn thing off. Perhaps she could reason with the Elves, tell them it had been an accident.  
  
But that wasn't true really. At the time, she had wanted their protection, their company and friendship.  
  
It was only when she realised that she was stuck here, that she could never go home that she had begun to enjoy the weapons training and anticipate her coming lifestyle.  
  
An old saying flowed through her mind. "The strongest weapon is made in the hottest forge." She took a deep breath. It was certainly true. If she was going to remain here, she may as well swing the tides of fortune in her direction.  
  
She looked up from the floor into the eyes of the Old Man.  
  
"What do you want to know?"  
  
The Old Man smiled. "Tell me when and where it's easiest to steal the Ring of Power from the half-ling."  
  
Kelly joined in the smile and began telling the enemies of the free peoples how to regain their most feared weapon.  
  
***  
  
"The Ring will leave Rivendell on December 25th, but it will be well protected. They will go through the Mines of Moria and there one of their company will fall, leaving them desolate and vulnerable."  
  
Kelly paused to count the days on her fingers. At least her vast knowledge of the Lord of the Rings was proving useful to someone.  
  
"January 15th will mark them leaving the Gate East of Moria."  
  
The Old Man smiled. "And who protects the Ring."  
  
Kelly sighed. "Prince Legolas, son of Thranduil; Boromir, son of Denethor; Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor; Gimli, son of Gloin; and three hobbits. Do not bother with them for they will offer no resistance. The Ring bearer has dark hair and bright blue eyes. He will not be easy to miss."  
  
Kelly let out a deep breath. Even though she didn't actually know these people, she still felt a twinge of guilt betraying them.  
  
"They head for Lothlorien, so strike at them quickly or you will not get another chance. Make sure you kill the Elf first, for he is a master bowman, and then kill Aragorn, so Gondor will never be united and the free peoples will fall." She added staring at wooden beam above her head.  
  
***  
  
The room was silent for several minutes as the men stared at Kelly. They had expected a rough area and time, not a precise location. The depth of her knowledge startled even the Old Man. She had not only told them the location of the Ring, but where it would be to the day and who to kill to influence the future.  
  
Ordon turned to the Old Man. "How long will it take us to reach this place?"  
  
The Old Man got up slowly and pulled a rolled map from a shelf. He spread it on the table and traced their route with his finger.  
  
"Thirteen days as the crow flies, fifteen though as we'll have to circle around those cursed woods to get to Moria Gate. Less on horse of course, but those Elves have cursed good hearing."  
  
Ordon turned back to Kelly, noticing Karth had stood up near her now.  
  
"You will leave tomorrow at dawn, tell none of your little friends. Get to the gate and eliminate any resistance you find waiting and prepare for the arrival of our best people a few weeks after. It will take some time to gather them all."  
  
Ordon looked up to Karth's scowling face.  
  
"Karth you will go with her and ensure that nothing happens to her. Although I don't doubt her abilities as a warrior now," He stopped to laugh slightly, "Two swords are better than one, especially with the stakes as high as they are."  
  
Karth's face went from a scowl to sheer disbelief; he began to argue but was stopped with a raise of the Old Man's hand.  
  
Karth stormed out and Kelly followed in just as fowl a mood. She had just condemned the fellowship to death and now it seemed she and Karth were to play a part in their execution.  
  
***  
  
Ordon shared a glance with the Old Man and they both smiled.  
  
"I will inform the Master." The Old Man turned and walked towards the back room where they kept the palantir. No one bar those two men knew it was there, but it was incredibly useful in receiving orders from his Master.  
  
Ordon turned back to the map and with one swift motion stabbed his table dagger through the map into the table at the exact location of the ambush.  
  
If all went to plan, the ring would be his in little over two moons. Ordon smiled at his casual use of "his". He had no intention of giving it over to Sauron, with the ring in his possession, Ordon's power could rival even his.  
  
He walked over to the window and watched the night cloak the land around Edoras. People still went about their daily chores, rubbing down their animals and putting them to bed, having no idea their fate had just been sealed.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie woke up from another night outdoors and stretched wearily. Only another three weeks of this, she told herself, then she would be in the comfort of a warm bed in the Shire. Possibly even someone specials's warm bed. She smiled at her fantasy, then was put in back in reality by the feeling of wet grass soaking through the bottom of cloak.  
  
She stood up irritably and tried to shake it off, only to receive a burst of laughter from Fred. Apparently Fred had already been awake and Chrissie's attempts to shake water from a cloak were hilarious.  
  
Chrissie looked west now, the view no longer obscured by trees. After their first camp they'd felt a need to get away from that area and had trotted their horses for most of yesterday. They'd reached this area late last night and had just bedded down out of sheer exhaustion.  
  
She straightened the saddle on her horse, mounted, and followed Fred south- west. She could see the Misty Mountains in front of her now, and a majestic forest that could only have been Lothlorien.  
  
They rode steadily over hill and valley, until the midday heat was beating fiercely down on them. Fred rose her hand to the horizon and shouted to Chrissie behind her:  
  
"Someone's coming ahead, I think. Look at the plumes of dust rising on the horizon."  
  
Chrissie strained her eyes and agreed. Although the race of the person was unknown and whether they were friend or foe, they hastily agreed to hide behind a nearby outcrop of stones until whoever it was had stormed past.  
  
They coaxed the horses down and waited.  
  
The sound of hooves grew louder, until it sounded like thunder in the ears of the girls. The rider slowed his approach and they heard the light thud of someone dismounting. Chrissie drew her dagger from her belt despite Fred's startled stare.  
  
The rider walked straight to their hiding place and poked his head around the rock.  
  
"I have dire news of the kind best not hidden from."  
  
Duin-Shiel allowed the ghost of a smile onto his lips at their surprise. Of course when they'd only just spotted him, he had seen them clearly for several minutes and saw them hide hastily.  
  
He warmed at Chrissie's glance at him and helped her and Fred up from the ground.  
  
"Have you ever heard of anyone by the name of Kelly?" Duin-Shiel asked anxiously. His mind had been a war of emotions within him ever since he'd left Lothlorien, and he wanted finally to know the answers to his questions.  
  
Fred and Chrissie exchanged a glance.  
  
"Yes." Fred said slowly, not sure how Duin-Shiel knew of her.  
  
Duin-Shiel smiled in relief, then remembering the severity of his news his face turned stern.  
  
"A messenger from Minas Tirith spoke of her, how she'd done radical things, and had Faramir twisted in circles. She's been seen outside Edoras, but she's in company with Ordon."  
  
He poured out his words hurriedly, glad to share this burden with someone. He spat the last word out like a plague and could see why most Elves simply killed his followers without pause.  
  
In his hurry, he'd forgotten that Fred and Chrissie knew nothing of this Ordon.  
  
"Ordon is known to the Stewards of Gondor as a corruptor of innocents into the service of Saruon."  
  
Chrissie shrugged. "I'm sure Kelly can take care of herself."  
  
Fred winced. Kelly and Chrissie were often at each other's throats, but a small minority of the time they were friends. "How old is this news?" She asked, wary of the answer.  
  
Duin-Shiel paused and counted the days in his mind. " Five days at the least."  
  
Fred winced again and turned to Chrissie. "We have to go after her."  
  
Chrissie pulled a face. "If she's gone and got herself into trouble, she can probably get herself out. Kelly's got more lives than a cat."  
  
"Yeah, but if it were either one of us in her position, she'd come after us." Fred said slowly.  
  
Chrissie paused. "But only for the fun and thrill of the adventure." Her arguments were beginning to thin.  
  
Fred grinned at the sight of victory. "Fair enough, but at least she'd come." In a whisper she added, "Don't you want to know what the last phrase means? I can't see you asking an Elf and she's the only person I know who speaks some Elvish."  
  
Chrissie grimaced. Trust Fred to play the guilt trap on her, then add on top of that her curiosity to what Duin-Shiel had told her that day he'd left.  
  
"Fine." She conceded.  
  
The two girls turned back to Duin-Shiel.  
  
"Carry on in the direction you're going, but when you near Fangorn Forest, turn south. You can't miss it." He said.  
  
Fred turned away and busied herself with something.  
  
Chrissie looked at Duin-Shiel.  
  
"My destiny calls me east now, but it might call me back westwards to Edoras soon." Duin-Shiel said slowly in his usual cryptic way.  
  
"Mine calls me west, but not forever." Chrissie smiled and watched Duin- Shiel remount Onyx. She gave him a wave as he began galloping back towards Mirkwood.  
  
She was glad she'd seen Duin-Shiel again, but quite annoyed she'd conceded into going after Kelly. She looked westwards and silently apologized to her Shire fantasy. It was going to have to be put on hold for a little while.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Just in case anyone is wondering I am keeping the months as English months to save on confusion 


	20. CHAPTER TWENTY : OBSTACLES

CHAPTER TWENTY - OBSTACLES  
Kelly looked furiously at Karth's form beside her. They'd left early this morning and by the look in Karth's eyes, he'd enjoyed waking her up well before dawn. They'd settled down about an hour after sundown and although Karth had fallen straight into a twisted slumber, Kelly couldn't seem to fall asleep.  
  
She watched him twitch and twist in his sleep, lashing out in random places. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost being the key word.  
  
Although they'd spoke not one word to each other during the entire day, he just seemed to rub her completely the wrong way. Just small things about him got on her nerves; the way in which he kept perfect pace with her, which no one else had ever done; the way their minds seemed to work the same way just drove her mad.  
  
As if echoing her mood, it began to rain. Lightning cracked across the sky and seemed to signal the rain to start coming down torrentially. She swore loudly and pulled herself from beneath her cloak. They'd decided horses weren't needed, that they were in no rush to reach the ambush area and they might as well walk.  
  
She kneeled over Karth, momentarily amazed he'd hadn't been woken by the storm which was now soaking him. She considered leaving him, but then again no matter how much she hated him, she couldn't just leave him out here to die.  
  
She shook him by the shoulders and fell back as he grabbed her own shoulders and grappled her to the ground. She took a deep breath of surprise and curled instinctively as his fist found it's way to her midsection.  
  
She almost growled at him, then kicked him hard enough in the chest to send him flying through the air. She stood up and brushed herself off.  
  
"Are you ready to go and find some shelter now, you crazy bastard?"  
  
Karth pushed himself up off the ground and eyed her cautiously. He'd didn't mind the rain and his body was just dying to hurt her as much as his pride still hurt from yesterday.  
  
He walked back towards her and she couldn't mistake the look in his eyes. Sighing slightly in irritation, she threw off her cloak and lowered into her ready stance.  
  
She'd donned the traditional clothes of the brotherhood now, just about black everything. The rain seeped through a gap in her neckline and rolled down her back. There would be no warm shelter for her tonight.  
  
***  
  
Karth came at her like an animal, and used his superior weight to knock her to the ground. He tried to pin her to the ground, but she was like a snake beneath him. He finally managed to pin her wrists beneath him and leaned until their faces were but inches apart.  
  
"Surrender." She saw the pleasure in his eyes, he thought he'd taken her down in one easy swoop.  
  
"Never." She whispered back and twisted her entire body to the left, sending Karth spinning beneath her as they rolled over. He caught her momentum and tried to continue it, making them roll over and over, neither wanting to relent.  
  
Kelly began to get slightly dizzy and dug her foot into the mud beneath her. Their rolling stopped and she ended up on top. She grinned.  
  
She struck him straight across the jaw and flung herself backwards, already getting to her feet as he did the same. He wiped a line of blood from his face  
  
He kicked out at her from the left and she dodged, barely missing the point of his toes. She twisted and hit him hard on his right midsection and used his imbalance to land another blow.  
  
Seeming to have her sussed, he began anticipating her moves blow for blow. He caught her down the side of the face, sending her spinning backwards  
  
Instinctively she reached for her twin daggers from her boots and slashed wildly at him, but soon felt the clang of steel as he lifted his own against her.  
  
They paused, circling each other, looking for weaknesses. Karth had a slash down the side of his face that was bleeding profusely, a purple bruise staining his jaw and several small slashes to his shirt.  
  
Kelly had a cut only centimetres clear of her eye, but the amount of blood from it had started to seep into her eye and was constantly distracting her. She also had a large bruise about half way up her face on the left, swelling by the minute.  
  
***  
  
Kelly stood completely still for a moment and tried to listen closer. She could have sworn she'd heard hooves. She signalled to Karth and he turned to the right also. Their petty differences could wait until later.  
  
Karth signalled back. Elves. Her eyes widened; they were miles clear of any forestland, times must be troubled indeed. Karth signalled again. There were at least five. Kelly gulped.  
  
Two against five was not good odds, especially when the Elves had superior sight and hearing, were mounted on battle trained horses and no doubt had several bows handy. Karth and Kelly quickly decided that they better make a run for it.  
  
They kept close to cover, moving as silently as they good, although no doubt the storm helped their cover a great deal. Spying a cave dug into a small knoll, Kelly covered the entrance up as best she could as they crawled inside. All they could do was wait.  
  
***  
  
Kelly stared into the flames as Karth absently fed the fire. They'd decided they'd rather risk a fight than freezing, since they were both soaking wet. Karth had built a small fire near the back of the cave and they both sat as close to it as they could without actually touching the flames. The close encounter with the Elves had shaken them both.  
  
Kelly broke the silence. "So, when did you join up with Ordon?" She had no idea where to start a conversation, but this seemed the only thing they had in common.  
  
Karth looked up. "About seven years ago."  
  
She frowned, he didn't look much older than herself and she was only seventeen. "Why?"  
  
Karth glared at her. "I'll answer yours if you answer mine. Agreed?" Kelly nodded.  
  
"My father studied many old texts and had many unpopular views. He spoke out against authority and eventually got himself killed by the guards in Minas Tirith. As an orphan I wandered towards Edoras and met up with Ordon. It seemed the perfect opportunity to get back at the people who killed my father, but it's become a way of life now.  
  
He paused. "How did Ordon convince you? You don't look like someone to be tied down anywhere."  
  
Kelly thought for a moment. "The Old Man made me face up to a few home truths. All my life at home, people thought me strange and even here, hundreds of miles away, people still do the same. He opened my eyes as to where I belong."  
  
Karth looked at her, trying to work out how what she said fitted in with her. He opened his mouth to ask her question, but she waved her hand.  
  
"My turn, remember? Why are you still with them? Why not travel the world, meet new people and have a new life?"  
  
"I.I don't know. Habit I suppose. Now, where do you come from, really?"  
  
Kelly swallowed. What was she supposed to say?  
  
"Wiltshire." She smiled. "A vague answer for a vague answer. Where did you learn to fight like you do?"  
  
Karth blushed. "Ordon when he was younger, but I've learned bits from here and there."  
  
Kelly laughed. It was hard to imagine Ordon doing anything physical. He might have the strength of a bull or enough to pull people from trees, but speed had never been his thing.  
  
Karth continued. "Who taught you to fight like that?"  
  
Kelly continued laughing as Karth passed her some water. "You did of course. I mean I've read things places and seen lots of tele.fights I mean. I guess I just picked it up."  
  
"Why are you so cold to everyone?" She asked, serious now.  
  
It was Karth's turn to grow uneasy. "I don't know. It's just hard to trust anyone, knowing what I know about what's going to happen in the future to Middle Earth."  
  
Silence crept over them and it seemed neither of them could re-capture the atmosphere that had drawn them together. Each of them snuggled down into their drying cloaks and listened to the pound of the rain outside and the fire crackling.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie and Fred stared into space, each girl thinking almost the same thoughts. They'd just started walking their horses after Duin-Shiel had left and they'd camped soon after. Each girl thought of all the things Kelly could have done in three weeks, all the trouble she could have caused and they would have to get her out of.  
  
They had talked earlier of the one called Ordon, but since they didn't know that much about him, it seemed pointless. Neither girl could fathom what would drive Kelly to become in league with Sauron willingly, so they had mutually decided she'd been kidnapped and corrupted.  
  
A hundred different scenarios went through Chrissie's head of where they might find her. What would they have to face to find her?  
  
Fred's thoughts were similar, but slightly different. Whereas Chrissie worried about Kelly's rescue, Fred worried about who it was they were rescuing. Would Kelly still be the same, or would she have changed beyond recognition? If Duin-Shiel was correct and she had been corrupted, what might they be forced to do?  
  
An image flashed through her head of what could happen to the future of Middle Earth if Kelly blurted out everything she knew about Lord of the Rings. What if Sauron somehow made Kelly tell him everything that would happen in Lord of the Rings? Sauron might regain his ring and Frodo could die.  
  
Fred mentally slapped herself and looked up into the morning light. Kelly would never do anything like that and all her and Chrissie had to do was go and get her.  
  
***  
  
Tune in next time for Chapter Twenty-One; Reunion. I'll leave you to speculate about what exactly that means ;) 


	21. CHAPTER TWENTY ONE : REUNION

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - REUNION  
Kelly smiled. Things were certainly working themselves out now. The sun was shining down on her and she was in Middle Earth. Karth was even being civil towards her now and she had to admit that when you broke through his icy exterior, he was actually quite nice.  
  
"So I didn't really like my odds, it being just me versus about twenty armed guards, so I jumped off a cliff into the Anduin."  
  
Kelly laughed as she confessed her recent mad adventures. They'd been talking about all the stupid things they'd done, but she had a feeling she was winning.  
  
"Wow. One time I went into Minas Tirith on an assignment and masqueraded as a woman; I got five invitations for a roll in the hay. By men. It was unnerving." Karth answered, almost smiling.  
  
"I know the feeling. When I tried to steal the Steward's horse, a stable girl came up behind me after a little bit more than helping me saddle the horse. I hit her over the head for her troubles."  
  
They shared a laugh and Kelly looked down at her watch absentmindedly. It said: Wednesday November 6th 9:50am. Kelly glanced off to the horizon. Why, her class at school would be doing Chemistry now; she wondered what they were doing and if they were having such a trial of time as she.  
  
"What's the matter?" Karth said gently.  
  
"Just thinking of home. Sometimes I just feel so.isolated from it. Like it's a million miles away." Which theoretically it was, she reminded herself.  
  
"You know, Kelly, when you accepted that mark you gained a family. My father always said that as long as you're with your family, you are home." He squeezed her hand. "And I am your brother now, no matter how much you hate me."  
  
Kelly smiled at his attempt at sincerity, but was touched by it anyway. This Karth was so different from the cold, evil one back in Edoras.  
  
"I don't really hate you, Karth, I just hated the things you did back at Edoras. And also you really annoy me." She gave him a playful push and smiled. Perhaps she didn't have to go home after all.  
  
***  
  
Kelly and Karth continued their journey north and since both of them were fast walkers in spirit, they made good progress. By noon of the next day, they had sighted Fangorn forest far in the distance.  
  
They camped quietly that night and made light jokes. Setting off early the next morning, Karth voiced what he'd been thinking for several hours.  
  
"What do you say we take a short-cut through the forest? It'll save us a day's walk."  
  
Kelly stared up at the approaching trees. Actually looking at them face to face made them look incredibly daunting.  
  
"I don't think we should go in." Kelly remembered how Treebeard had squashed the orc that had chased Merry and Pippin within the forest. Now she was a kind of friend to orcs.  
  
Karth was just about to give some sarcastic rebuke when he saw the seriousness of her face. "No, it's alright Kelly. If you say we don't go in, we won't. We'll go around. We're not in any rush anyway."  
  
Kelly gave him a grateful glance as they turned north-east to give the tree line a wide berth.  
  
Karth looked over into the horizon. "What do you say we camp in the East Emnet tonight."  
  
Kelly did a brief calculation of the distance from her mental map and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"We'll have to run some of the way."  
  
"Yeah, but I have something to show you. I once heard tales that if you sat in the East Emnet, on the banks of the river, then you can see coloured lights in the water reflected from the skies."  
  
"Sounds great. Let's go."  
  
***  
  
Chrissie and Fred had sped on since Fred had voiced her concerns for Kelly's sanity. Apparently Chrissie gave much more substance to the idea that Kelly might tell the enemy how to kill Frodo than Fred did. Kelly had already written numerous fanfics about it, so why not actually do it.  
  
They'd galloped over much of the plains and rested only briefly. Fred was determined to reach Edoras as soon as they could. When they sighted Fangorn in the distance the following noon, Chrissie let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Can we have a break now? I mean we've been riding hard all day and I'm exhausted. I think even Peanuts' going to collapse soon. Look, what's that river over there?"  
  
It took a moment for Fred to remember exactly who Peanuts was, then she had it. That was Chrissie's horse and since she couldn't pronounce the Elven name, she'd named it Peanuts. Fred got the map out of her pocket and traced their line of travel.  
  
"I don't think it has a name, but here it is. Apparently, we're in East Emnet, or whatever that is. Okay, we'll stop here."  
  
Chrissie swung her legs from her horse and tiredly unbuckled the saddle from the panting beast's middle. She would rub down it's piebald coat later. After chucking the saddle somewhere, she collapsed onto the soft grass.  
  
When she could breathe steadily again, she dipped her entire head into the nearby river. It still amazed her that she no longer thought that her hair being in place was the most important thing in the world.  
  
Fred looked up to the sun to see it setting comfortably. "Should we build a fire this close to Isengard?"  
  
Chrissie shrugged. "Yeah go on. I can just see you're desperate to and if anything sets upon us, you have rocks and I have the pom poms."  
  
Fred couldn't help but laugh and she managed to light a fire. She snuggled into her cloak and just sat and listened as Chrissie carried the conversation.  
  
***  
  
It was after nightfall when Kelly and Karth spied the shining thread of the river through the gloom. They also saw a brightly burning fire.  
  
Kelly and Karth instantly crouched to the ground, wary of who or what might be there. They scurried silently closer to the fire and listened as patches of conversation drifted to their ears.  
  
Peaking over the edge of the riverbed, Karth gestured to two figures cuddled up by the firelight, probably sleeping.  
  
"Well they look mortal enough." Karth pointed out.  
  
"And that fire looks awfully inviting. Do you think they count as interference?" Kelly grinned innocently and Karth couldn't help but smile. They had been ordered to kill any man or orc that threatened their mission.  
  
"Listen out for any reinforcements." Kelly whispered to him as she slipped silently into the water.  
  
The water was icy but she kept her movements slow and dulled, trying to keep her approach silent. She climbed the far bank and shook herself off, noting the position of the sleeping figures. She heard Karth enter the waters and watched him circle around to the north of the camp.  
  
Kelly smacked the flanks of the horses and watched as they ran off into the swirling black mists on the edge of the camp. She couldn't have her targets riding off now, could she.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie's eyes snapped open as she heard the distinct sound of someone slapping a horse, then a second time. She heard a small chuckle and as Fred opened her eyes, Chrissie knew Fred had heard as well.  
  
She locked eyes with Fred, and pointed her gaze to where their daggers were piled. She tightened her cloak around her, trying to stop herself shivering.  
  
She counted softly with Fred. "One, two, three."  
  
On three, both girls jumped out of the their blankets and ran toward their daggers. They threw them up in front of them as if just by doing so they could ward off whatever had invaded their campsite.  
  
Chrissie and Fred stood back to back and both shivered as they heard a sword being unsheathed.  
  
***  
  
Kelly chuckled as she watched the two shadowy figures grab their daggers. They were too far from the light of the fire to reveal their faces, but then again, it didn't really matter. Kelly was caught up in the exhilaration of the moment.  
  
She tiptoed towards them, realising their eyes hadn't quite adjusted to the darkness yet. She raised her sword, and in a copy of a baseball swing, swung her sword as hard as she could at the blade of the first one's dagger. She even used the flat of the blade, not wanting anybody to die just yet. Her first victim was obviously a she from the squeak she made.  
  
The dagger went flying through the air and landed in the embers of the campfire. Kelly withdrew back into the shadows and circled around them.  
  
She drew her cloak down over her face and stepped within a few feet of the girls. She raised her sword in front of her and saw how easy it would be to kill them. Kelly was almost bored. With a quick blow to the taller girl who was holding the other dagger, Kelly made her drop her dagger as well.  
  
Raising her sword towards their throats, she advanced. They spotted her and moved back towards the campfire, stopping only centimetres from the reach of the hungry flames. She heard Karth's muffled movements behind her, then felt his comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
The firelight crackled behind the girls, but although they had their cloaks pulled tight over their faces, parts of their cheeks began to show. She could also see the whites of their eyes slowing enlarging in fear.  
  
Kelly paused again, she was sure there was something familiar about these people. A gust of wind blew her cloak from her head and she heard the two girls gasp at the sight of her. Kelly shrugged it off. There was no reason why victims shouldn't be frightened at the sight of their killer.  
  
Kelly felt the hand on her shoulder squeeze slightly, then disappear, obviously investigating something.  
  
"Someone comes." Karth said.  
  
Kelly smiled and drew her arm back to slash the frightened girls.  
  
"Deal with them, these two are mine."  
  
***  
  
Duin-Shiel seemed to be riding on the wind itself. After telling Lady Galadriel's message to Thranduil, Duin-Shiel had begged his leave. He had agreed to meet Thranduil in Rivendell in several weeks time.  
  
He worried for Chrissie and Fred and was beside himself when he found their horses galloping at full speed towards him. He put in an extra burst of speed and couldn't help but draw his bow in readiness for whatever faced him.  
  
Duin-Shiel jumped from his horse as he saw the campfire, rolled and fired at the first figure that seemed to be threatening the girls. 


	22. CHAPTER TWENTY TWO : FORGED

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - FORGED  
Kelly heard the hum of the arrow behind her and heard Karth groan. She turned and fell to the ground beside him. She felt the shaft of the arrow in his flesh and tried to stanch the bleeding around it. He had intercepted the arrow for her.  
  
The sound of his breathing was haggard and on feeling his pulse, his heart rate was increasing exponentially. She felt on the verge of tears, but an overwhelming feeling swept her almost off her feet. Primal, unconditional rage.  
  
Dawnlight begin to spill over the tops of Fangorn Forest, illuminating their surroundings, seeming to freeze everyone in a twisted tableau. Kelly bent over Karth as he coughed and held onto his hand.  
  
"You're going to be alright you know, Karth. I'm not going to let you die. You can't die. No, I won't let you. I need you here, with me."  
  
He raised his hand just high enough to stroke the wound he'd given her last night on her face.  
  
"I'm.sorry." He whispered out.  
  
"SShhh. You have nothing to be sorry for." She felt his forehead and it almost scalded her hand.  
  
"Fly high." He began, his eyes beginning to glaze over.  
  
She kissed him lightly on the forehead and murmured the farewells. She could see in his eyes that he knew what was coming. She wondered what he saw in her eyes.  
  
I'm not going to cry, Kelly thought strongly. I'm not going to cry in front of these people. She held onto Karth's hand as he drew in one last deep breath and seemed to smile at her, then let it out slowly. He did not breathe again. She crossed his arms over his chest and stood up slowly. Someone was going to pay for this.  
  
Kelly turned her attention from Karth to the rest of the camp. An Elf stood talking rapidly to the two girls by the dying embers of the campfire. She had no comprehension of what it was saying. An Elf, one of firstborn. One of those who had killed her people for years. And this particular one had murdered Karth. Her trainer. Her friend. Her brother.  
  
Kelly's eyes glazed over with undisguised fury. She felt the sides of her legs for the comforting presence of her twin daggers and picked her sword up from the ground. She took a running start and pounced on the Elf. She was going to kill him if it was the last thing she did.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie and Fred stood in shock by the campfire, their eyes glued to Kelly holding her hand over a stranger's forehead. They still couldn't believe it was Kelly who had assaulted their campsite and Chrissie let out a scream as Kelly pounced on Duin-Shiel.  
  
The two rolled to the other side of the embers, but were instantly on their feet.  
  
Chrissie didn't know who she wanted to win this fight and held her breath deep in her chest.  
  
***  
  
Duin-Shiel tired to remain calm as blows rained down on him. He'd pieced everything together as he'd stood there with Chrissie and Fred, who still seemed to be in shock. This girl here was Kelly. He hadn't known it was her when he'd fired at her, just someone who was threatening Chrissie and Fred. He hadn't meant for that other person to step in the way.  
  
He tried to think as he parried her blows, trying to think why she wasn't happy to see Chrissie and Fred. He watched her eyes and they did not even glance at them. Was this some foul trick of the enemy, some game of the mind?  
  
An idea struck him about the same time as her sword, a ripping pain down his shoulder. He had to distract her.  
  
"Why are you attacking me, Kelly?" He asked her as they circled each other menacingly.  
  
It seemed to bother her that he knew her name, yet she shrugged it off. She tore a strip of leather from her wrist and tossed it at him, revealing the bat tattoo.  
  
"You murdered my best friend in front of my eyes only moments ago, is it that unimportant that you've forgotten already? You've killed my people for centuries, I don't see why you're questioning my claim for blood."  
  
Duin-Shiel physically boiled at the sight of that poison of the flesh. He was glad Chrissie and Fred only knew some of what that stood for.  
  
"What about them? Why did you attack them?" He pointed to the girls.  
  
"Survival of the fittest. They were stupid to be out here alone and defenceless."  
  
"But they're you're friends." Duin-Shiel argued.  
  
Kelly paused and looked at the two girls huddled by the fire. They did seem very familiar, but their cloaks still hid their identity.  
  
Duin-Shiel used her momentary confusion to grab her by the shoulders and grip her in a head lock.  
  
"Take off your cloaks!" He shouted at Chrissie and Fred and watched quickly obey. He felt Kelly sag slightly in his grasp.  
  
"What have you done to them you foul elf? Scared them out of their wits probably."  
  
She grabbed him by the wrist and spun him in front of her, quickly enough for him to be confused, but slowly enough for her to recover her daggers from her boots.  
  
***  
  
Kelly was fuming, at both herself and this Elf. First she had assaulted her two friends from home, then this Elf had come after them. She was going to kill him, whatever else happened.  
  
She slashed at him, left then right, quicker than her eyes could follow. He parried; barely, but she could tell he was tiring.  
  
She stole a glance at them. Chrissie looked strange without her hair in a perfect state and Fred looked more confidant. Why hadn't she recognised them before?  
  
She threw a dagger at Duin-Shiel as they circled each other with a flick of her wrist, and watched as it embedded itself all the way through his right hand.  
  
"That's for touching them." She smiled and started towards him, loving the way pure rage made her feel, untouchable, uncontrollable, alive.  
  
***  
  
Fred had been watching the display calmly and although she liked Duin- Shiel, she wasn't emotionally attached to him like Chrissie was, so noticed the small things that Kelly did. It was those small things that told Fred what Kelly was thinking.  
  
Fred strolled boldly towards her, trying not to look at the blood smeared beneath her eyes, or the daggers in her hands or the blood lust in her eyes. She hoped to God she was right.  
  
"Kelly, Duin-Shiel is a friend."  
  
Kelly looked towards her, as if realising that she and the Elf weren't the only ones there for the first time.  
  
"He thought your friend was attacking us, that's why he attacked him. He was protecting us." Fred continued, hoping that Kelly wouldn't turn on her as well.  
  
Kelly held her gaze a moment longer, then dismissed her.  
  
"Move out of my way, Fred. This is no concern of yours. It is between me and the Elf."  
  
Fred grabbed her by the arm. Then let go at the look of murder in Kelly's eyes. Kelly looked back towards Fred then over to Chrissie and Duin-Shiel. She even noticed how Chrissie had moved in front of Duin-Shiel.  
  
"This is not over between us, Elf. But do not think I will forget the oaths taken this night and I always keep my word. Always. No matter how far you run, before the end of this life I will have your blood on my hands."  
  
Her tone lightened somewhat as she addressed Chrissie and Fred's shocked faces.  
  
"I'm sorry for scaring you; it won't happen again." She walked back towards Karth and in one swift motion, swung his carcass over the remaining horse. She didn't even care that the horse happened to belong to the Elf.  
  
Chrissie raised an eyebrow. Just what was Kelly planning?  
  
Kelly looked back to them and tried to offer some kind of explanation for her actions. "I have made my choices." She said looking at Karth then down at her tattoo. Her fury seemed to be lifting now and her confidence in her activities had died along with Karth. She wished she could just get angry again, the feel of adrenaline streaming through her veins and lifting her mind higher.  
  
"I really am glad to see you guys, you know. It's just that I have business to take care of." She said, hoping they hadn't noticed her momentary lapse of thought.  
  
"More people to frighten and ambush?" Chrissie said, tapping her foot.  
  
Kelly blushed but then strengthened her resolve. "I will not shy away from my responsibilities, even if it kills me."  
  
Yep that's Kelly alright, playing the honourable person right to the end, Chrissie thought. Even if she is a crook.  
  
"When I first got here, I thought every single day about going home. I decided to go to Lothlorien, thinking them the wisest of the wise. If anyone would know how to send me home, it would be them.  
  
Then I started out and my adventurous spirit kicked it. All my life I longed to go to Middle Earth and now here I am. You know where it is I want to go, but I have time to kill before then and this is my chosen activity." Kelly looked to her left to avoid their gaze. "Anyway, I don't want to go home."  
  
Kelly looked back up at Fred.  
  
"What about your family? Think about all the torture you're putting them through." Fred said perceptively.  
  
"My family are here. We may not be completely honest and be a slight bit evil, but we survive." She said grinning.  
  
"A slight bit? Kelly, pull yourself together! We've heard all about these brothers of yours, they work for Sauron for pity's sake." Chrissie exploded. She'd never been one for tact.  
  
"I know." Kelly gave them a half smile. "Go warn Gandalf if it will quiet your conscience. He'll still be in Rivendell until December 24th."  
  
"You'll never see the Return of the King movie, you know." Fred said, hoping to spark some interest in her.  
  
"That's a bummer that, but in a year's time I'll be living it. It'll be like interactive movies. It's not like I have much choice now, anyway." Fred looked puzzled.  
  
Kelly held up her tattoo. "Elves are oath bound to kill anyone with this tattoo on sight. Aren't I right, Elf?" She turned to Duin-Shiel.  
  
"In a nutshell, yes. And I believe you just took a blood oath to kill me." Duin-Shiel never looked up from the ground.  
  
Kelly nodded. "I always keep my word. Never forget that." She took the horses reins and began leading it north.  
  
Chrissie voiced the question everyone had been thinking. "Are you going to kill Frodo? Did you give your word to kill him?"  
  
Kelly turned back to face them, seeing how the Elf had subconsciously moved closer to Chrissie.  
  
"I didn't swear to kill him, no, but I did give my word to reach Moria and kill any posing a threat. If any try to stop me, then I will have no choice."  
  
"What do you possibly need the ring for, Kelly?" Fred said, still silently hoping Kelly would just burst out laughing and shout about how much she'd fooled them all, like on April Fool's Day.  
  
"I don't want it actually, but he does. We have done his bidding for years and I don't see why it should be any different now."  
  
"You're not one of them, Kelly. You belong back on Earth, on the Internet writing slash fanfics. These people are cold blooded killers, they attack and kill innocent people."  
  
Kelly raised a wry eyebrow. "Aren't I?"  
  
Chrissie and Fred both knew they'd exhausted their arguments. With a whispered Elven greeting to the horse, the horse began walking, quite content to be doing so.  
  
"She speaks Elvish?" Duin-Shiel said in disbelief when only a fading shadow was all that could be seen of them. Elves were taught that *they* refused to learn any Elven words and that the language was like a sacrilege to them.  
  
"Yeah. She loves the Elves." Chrissie said, never taking her eyes from the sight.  
  
***  
  
Kelly leaned into sway of walking and buried her face in Karth's limp shoulder.  
  
She tried to steel her resolve. She'd done the right thing she told herself over and over again. Unfortunately, repetition had never made her learn or believe anything and it hadn't started to now.  
  
She had gotten them into this mess and she was going to get them out of it. Staying with them would only get them killed and that would defy the whole point of pushing them away. She could never go home, but they could and she intended to make sure they did.  
  
Kelly took a deep breath and looked out into the horizon. Everything she'd said to them had been true, so why did she feel like she'd hidden the truth?  
  
Where to go now, she wondered? She could continue north to Moria's gate and wait around for goodness knows how long then participate in the killing of the Ringbearer. Really, she knew Frodo would never give up the Ring lightly.  
  
Or she could go renegade, perhaps making her way as a bodyguard or an assassin if she choose. She had no doubts she could do the job, but it would mean killing.  
  
It was true that she wanted to go to Helm's Deep, but she was starting to learn that all things had consequences. She was beginning to wonder if her dream had too high a price. She wanted more than anything to go home, but not at the expense of someone else.  
  
She might as well make do with what she had in front of her.  
  
Satisfied at the distance between herself and her friends, she pulled Karth from the saddle and set him on her shoulder. She walked to the top of a nearby rise then laid him down to rest. By the time she'd dug his grave and piled a satisfactory amount of stones above his grave, she was exhausted.  
  
It was only then that she allowed two solitary tears to roll down her face, glistening like diamonds in the warm morning light. She would let no more fall though, because if they did, she feared they would never stop.  
  
"Why did you have to die and leave me here all alone?" She whispered to the pile of stones on Karth's grave. "What am I supposed to do? Where am I to go?  
  
I wanted to tell you, I really did. I wanted to tell you where I really come from, how I got here and tell you about them. But they killed you and now."  
  
Tears threatened again but Kelly wiped them away with her cuff. Although she'd feigned some things this evening, to push her friends away from danger; her hatred of that elf, Duin-Shiel was all too real. She honestly wanted to kill him, to feel his life slipping away at her hand and to see him suffer the way he deserved.  
  
She stayed away from them because Kelly knew that if she ever saw that Elf again, she might well kill him and enjoy doing it. She knew that if she killed an innocent and enjoyed it, then the Old Man would be right. Those last words he'd spoken to her before she'd left still haunted her dreams. He'd told her she was natural assassin, that it was what she was born to do.  
  
If she got angry enough at Duin-Shiel, she may well accidentally kill Chrissie and Fred in her blind rage.  
  
She slapped herself and laid down to rest next to Karth's grave.  
  
She closed her eyes and smiled as she realised the truth. The only person who'd cared for her in the past weeks was dead and she was alone in a strange country. She'd pushed her friends away and made enemies in all the surrounding land. She felt.impulsive and ever so slightly unstable. If she could be back home right now, she'd book herself into a mental hospital and spend twenty years in therapy.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Now that we're counting down to the last chapter, I want to know if anyone would be interested in a sequel. I have a couple of chapters written, but should I just leave it as a one off or continue it on? Your opinions are always welcome!! The next chapter is Resolution and is the penultimate chapter of the story. Until next time,  
  
Forest Elfin  
  
Luin, Nuin and Eren: Yeah, I know, explosions rock!! Look out for some more in the future, it's not my fault I was born a pyrotechnic.  
  
Chrissie: I truly believe Mr Winchif watches porn videos. I would never make a dig at you, I'm too scared.  
  
Freddie loves Frodo: Your wrath scares me that's why im very nice to you and make you brave lots.  
  
Lily of the Shadow: The updates are coming, although we're getting rather close to the end.  
  
Arinya: Sorry I scare you, but I'm beginning to believe that certain personality traits attract and there are lots of groups of people around that have the same kind of people in them.  
  
Freddie loves Frodo: You are the voice of reason since you are the Oracle. Lots of bad things will happen to me don't worry.  
  
Wizardess Gal: Calm down, she's not evil, just confused and alone. Don't worry, I'm sure Chrissie and Fred will sort her out.  
  
Chrissie: Yeah well, I was alone and confused, although I did get kinda carried away.  
  
Tbiris: Okay then.  
  
Tbiris: Trust me, she's very very sorry and she's going to spend a long time redeeming herself.  
  
Kat Heiman: I don't think there could be anything quite like this story because it's based on people I know and since they're original people, it's an original story. Thanks for the compliments.  
  
Hannah: Me too, confusion is a constant factor in my life, but I work around it. I'll try to update quicker, but there aren't many chapters left.  
  
Chrissie: Kelly just gets very angry sometimes and can't always control her actions and also she's quite violent by nature, as you well know. You always want more Duin-Shiel.  
  
Freddie loves Frodo: I'm laughing, a lot. Not sure if Karth would have beaten Kelly though.  
  
Tbiris: Hopefully you'll know by now.  
  
Hobbit-Eyes: Well thanks. If you ever want to chat about it or send some of it my way, go ahead. I'm looking to beta some stuff anyway.  
  
Legolas Stalker Tay: Thanks, more is coming.  
  
Chrissie: Well it was emotionally shameful to call a horse peanuts and I even feel sorry for the horse as well.  
  
Hobbit-Eyes: More is coming, don't worry.  
  
Tbiris: Was it good scary or bad scary? I really did go for the dramatic effect there and anyway Kelly kinda enjoys being evil after being good for so long. Hope you liked the surprise of it.  
  
Freddie loves Frodo: I know Chrissie will be angry, but at the moment she's kinda in shock. I won't comment on your defences, but I sort of envisioned you like the hobbits, you know with the whole holding up of the daggers. They didn't do very well either. (Ps this is NOTHING to do with your size!!!)  
  
Wizardess Gal: What's kya? Don't worry they won't die, I haven't finished torturing them and making them suffer yet! 


	23. CHAPTER TWENTY THREE : RESOLUTION

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - RESOLUTION  
Fred, Chrissie and Duin-Shiel sat miserably around their campfire. After their initial period of shock, Chrissie and Fred had told Duin-Shiel everything; well almost. They'd said that the history of Middle Earth had been chronicled and that Kelly was a scholar of it. They thought even he would have trouble dealing with the fact they were living in a fantasy world in a dead man's head.  
  
"I don't believe her, Chrissie. I just don't think she'd ever give up on anything. Do you remember what she's like at chess?"  
  
Chrissie smiled at the memory. Kelly would always fight on her side of the board right up until the last piece, even if she had no chance of winning.  
  
"Even if she had no hope of surviving she'd still march right up to Galadriel and ask her bluntly whether she knew how to send her home." Fred continued.  
  
"But if she wants to be left alone, I don't see any point in pursuing this. I killed her best friend for pity's sake." Duin-Shiel spoke up. He was still working out his story to report to the Elves on why he had let her survive.  
  
Chrissie pulled another bit of grass from the ground and twisted it around her finger. It was true Kelly had a habit of trying to fool them and playing jokes on them. But nearly always something would give her away before the end. Nothing had this time.  
  
"Chrissie, oh my god, I know what it is." Fred burst out spontaneously.  
  
"What? What is?" Chrissie said, broken from her line of thought.  
  
"How she slipped up." Fred said excitably.  
  
Sometimes they were just so in tune with each other it was scary.  
  
"How?" Chrissie said as her piece of grass snapped.  
  
"Do you remember in psychology when Ms Duck told us about persuasion and stuff. She said that if someone looks to the left when they're talking, they're lying. Kelly looked to the left when she said she didn't want to go home. Oh my God!" Fred got up and did a little dance.  
  
"How exactly does that help us?" Chrissie said sceptically.  
  
"We know what we're going to do now." Fred said, smiling.  
  
"Oh, indeed. And what *pray tell* is that?" Chrissie said sarcastically.  
  
"We're going to outsmart Kelly."  
  
Chrissie raised an eyebrow. At something to do with Lord of the Rings? That was damned near impossible.  
  
***  
  
Fred spread their map of Middle Earth on the ground and crudely drew on the Fellowship's route with a piece of charcoal from the fire.  
  
"Right, she said something about an ambush, right? So, where do you think the fellowship is most vulnerable?"  
  
Chrissie traced her finger along the map.  
  
"Well, just after they leave Rivendell they're going to be on their guard. I think an ambush on Caradhras would probably be near impossible, even for whatever Kelly has become." Chrissie said bluntly.  
  
Fred looked cynically at Chrissie.  
  
"What? You saw her with that sword and she even took on Duin-Shiel. An Elf, with years of training didn't slow her."  
  
Fred winced.  
  
"Anyway.that brings us to Moria." Chrissie said, casting her eyes down. The group went silent.  
  
"What happens at Moria?" Duin-Shiel said quietly.  
  
"Gandalf falls into shadow." Fred started.  
  
"And when they emerge, they're miserable and depressed."  
  
Fred and Chrissie looked at each other and Chrissie rested her finger on the spot.  
  
"That's where it's going to be. But when? I only read the books once and I can't remember them that well."  
  
Fred got up and started pacing, clearly taking charge of the situation.  
  
"Okay. She said that Gandalf would still be in Rivendell on December 24th. So." She snapped around to look at Duin-Shiel. "How long do you think it takes to get to Moria from Rivendell?"  
  
Duin-Shiel looked startled. "About two and a half weeks." He squeaked.  
  
"So that's, ten, eleven." She paused to count on her fingers. "Add a couple of days for Caradhras is about January 13th. Okay, we have a when and a where, but the how is just about beyond me."  
  
Fred looked hopefully at Chrissie and Duin-Shiel and slumped down on the ground.  
  
"We could go up to Rivendell and warn them before they leave. Tell them to go a different way." Duin-Shiel said optimistically.  
  
Chrissie shook her head. "We can't risk changing the fate of the Fellowship. The smallest thing we do could affect the outcome of the War of the Ring. I think we're pretty much on our own in this one."  
  
"Tell us more about *the brothers*. Do you think it will be just Kelly or lots more people?" Fred urged Duin-Shiel.  
  
Duin-Shiel paused. He didn't really know that much, but Thranduil had filled in a few details for him when he'd arrived.  
  
"As far as we know they're like a network of spies for Sauron except they do more than just spy. They also assassinate, enslave and kill if it should prove profitable to them. They used to be an elite army, but after the Last Alliance, they split up into twos and threes so they could penetrate society more easily."  
  
"They've really been around that long?" Chrissie said in amazement. Up until now, she'd thought of them as some rebellious adolescents.  
  
"Yes. Potentials are sometimes kidnapped and tortured into the ranks, but some join of their free will. We know something is offered to them, an offer they can't refuse that makes these people serve Sauron. From what I've heard, they all bear a grudge. Kill one and the entire network is after you; that's what makes them so feared."  
  
Chrissie gulped. Maybe they'd bitten off slightly more than they could chew.  
  
"None of this is in Lord of the Rings." Fred said vacantly.  
  
"And this surprises you? I do not think people like to remember the ugly things in their history." Duin-Shiel whispered.  
  
"I think that if we can somehow get through to Kelly, make her understand exactly what's she's doing, then perhaps we have a chance. If she can provide us with a distraction, then perhaps we can take out the rest of the assassins." Duin-Shiel thought out loud.  
  
"Kelly's good at distractions. But how do we get through to her?" Fred voicing exactly what Chrissie was thinking.  
  
"I don't know, you know her better than I do!" Duin-Shiel explained.  
  
The group sat in silence for several minutes; Duin-Shiel preying that something would suddenly fit into place for the girls, Chrissie wondering exactly it was that made Kelly tick and Fred wearing her thinking face.  
  
Duin-Shiel stood up suddenly.  
  
"Even if we can't think of exactly what to do now, I think we should at least try and keep pace with her. Sitting here will do us no good."  
  
Chrissie and Fred pulled each other up. Duin-Shiel was right.  
  
Duin-Shiel disappeared into the fields and returned several minutes later with the two horses. He strapped the remaining supplies onto the back of the horse he'd mounted and Chrissie and Fred mounted the other.  
  
They trotted along slowly and softly, when finally they noticed where Kelly had stopped. They followed her tracks to see the silhouette of Karth's grave on the crest of a hill and a small cloaked figure lying next to it.  
  
Duin-Shiel hid their horses within the outskirts of Fangorn and they all crouched down, watching and waiting.  
  
"If we are going to do something, we should do it when she's most vulnerable and that will probably be now, when she's exhausted from grieving."  
  
Chrissie, Fred and Duin-Shiel watched silently from afar as Kelly led down and prepared to sleep.  
  
"It's a bit ruthless isn't it? I mean, she's grieving and everything." Fred said practically.  
  
"Come on. Do you think she would show you any mercy at all in your situation? And anyway, do you think we have any chance against her when she's fully awake?" Fred paused as Duin-Shiel smiled; he'd made his point.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie held her breath as she tiptoed past Kelly's head. Kelly, I hope you forgive me someday, she thought as she picked a fist-sized rock. She crouched next to her head and she looked up to see Duin-Shiel and Fred looking at her.  
  
She smiled and smashed the rock across Kelly's temple. She really did hope that she hadn't killed her. She felt for her pulse and luckily found it.  
  
Fred did some wild hand signals, but Chrissie interpreted it as 'what are you going to do now?' She poked Kelly, and when there was no response, signalled to Fred. Duin-Shiel dragged Kelly towards a tree trunk and tied her up securely, then settled down with the girls on the other side of the campfire.  
  
"Get some sleep, I'll watch her." He winked at Chrissie.  
  
Chrissie and Fred settled down in front of the fire.  
  
***  
  
Kelly woke up several hours later with a pounding headache. She twisted her wrists and was surprised to find them tied securely around a tree trunk.  
  
Seeing the Elf on the other side of the camp site, she just laughed out loud, not caring how crazy it sounded.  
  
"You capturing me? That's pretty hilarious. I mean first you kill my best friend then you come after me. What did you tell them? That you're some righteous messenger on a crusade just casually stopping to help some damsels in distress?"  
  
Kelly laughed at her own joke and smiled and the way the Elf squirmed under her scrutiny.  
  
***  
  
Chrissie and Fred tried not to move, but looked at each other silently. Neither needed to voice what they were both thinking; Kelly had finally snapped.  
  
She was laughing out loud and half crying as well, not really making any sense at all. Chrissie could see the fear in Fred's eyes. What exactly were they going to do with her now?  
  
***  
  
Kelly rubbed her leg against the ground and was glad to find her penknife still in place. Maybe it could prove lucky this time. Focusing on the things around her that weren't spinning, she began to regain her conscious mind. Her laughing dwindled and she wiped her face with the back of her sleeve.  
  
She turned her head to see the Elf watching her; she gave him a sarcastic smile as her face twisted in resolve. Those three weeks had drilled the basics of survival into her and there was no way she could escape them. She had to escape.  
  
The ropes were tight, but not enough to prevent a small amount of movement. Over the last few weeks, Kelly had been tied up many times and she was starting to learn a few tricks.  
  
Kelly twisted her leg beneath her and pretended to itch it, actually removing her penknife from it's small pocket. After that she easily sawed through the ropes binding her, but sat as still as possible. Almost swearing with exertion, she saw Chrissie open her eyes.  
  
Chrissie walked over towards her as if she was some exhibit at a zoo, or more precisely, a locked up lunatic on display. Of course, this drove Kelly mad and she stood up casually as if this was something normal. Her anger fuelled her mind, driving her thoughts back to a strain of normalcy.  
  
"I thought you were tied up." Chrissie said, stepping back.  
  
"That's because you're stupid." Kelly said with a smile, instantly causing Chrissie to retreat.  
  
Fred appeared behind Chrissie. "Is that a quote from 'The Mask of Zorro?"  
  
Kelly paused. "Yeah. Anyway, stop distracting me."  
  
Fred was seriously intimidated now.  
  
"What the hell do you want now?" Kelly snapped.  
  
Kelly looked quickly from Chrissie to Fred to the Elf. They weren't buying this act anymore. Bummer. A thought dawned on her; potentially there could be more brothers only a day or two behind them.  
  
Nobody seemed to saying anything. Damn, Kelly thought, this is bad.  
  
"I have to go." Kelly had to get away from this.  
  
They looked at her with a disapproval that just tore her apart. Well, stuff them a voice told her, stay with them and just see what happens when her family caught up. They kidnapped her for pity's sake! She shook her head. They were her friends, no matter what. She couldn't do that to them.  
  
She turned and began walking north.  
  
"Are you going to walk all the way to Moria?" Chrissie said with an eyebrow raised.  
  
Outwardly, Kelly scowled. "If I have to." Inwardly she was smiling at their ability to see through her plans.  
  
"Kelly, why won't you talk to us?" Fred took a nervous step forward.  
  
Kelly took a deep breath and stopped. They certainly were tenacious.  
  
"Do you have any idea what any other brother would do to you in my place? Ask your Elf friend perhaps, I'm sure he could tell you a thing or two about streaming? I bet he hasn't said anything has he?"  
  
Chrissie frowned and turned toward Duin-Shiel.  
  
"You don't want to know."  
  
She frowned again, but turned back to Kelly.  
  
"They are coming, maybe only a day or two behind me. Do you have any idea what they'll do to you if they find you with me?"  
  
Suddenly it dawned on Fred exactly what game Kelly was playing. She was trying to protect them.  
  
"Kelly, we don't need protecting. We can take care of ourselves. How do you think we survived coming all across Middle Earth? You don't have to keep running from these people."  
  
"I'm not talking about my people silly. Elves, coming this way. They caught up with us last night, and I don't have any intention of being around when they catch up with you. Just stay with him and you'll be fine."  
  
"They're not going to hurt going to hurt you Kelly, they'll help, I know they will. They're Elves for goodness sake."  
  
Kelly raised an eyebrow. "I suppose they'll just forgive me, just like that."  
  
"Well you haven't killed any of them, have you?"  
  
Fred paused as Kelly blushed slightly and began walking away.  
  
"He came after us alone, just as we were about to enter our hiding place for the night. We had no choice."  
  
"Who was he?" Duin-Shiel demanded.  
  
"Blonde with a stammer." Kelly said quietly.  
  
"Laneth." Duin-Shiel whispered. That was the Elf that had reported the information about Kelly from Minas Tirith and Edoras.  
  
Everyone was silent for several long minutes, some in shock, some in remorse.  
  
"Why are you with these people, Kelly? They forced you to kill someone for pity's sake." Fred said desperately, still reeling in shock.  
  
"These people, Fred, are the only people who have been kind to me since I arrived. They took me in, looked after me. I felt so alone out there. And in case you haven't noticed, Fred, I am one of those people too. And they didn't force me to do anything; it was him or us and I chose."  
  
"We don't care what you are or pretend to be, Kelly. To us you are still the scatter-brained question master you always have been. Even if you do write slash fanfics. Even if you do write fanfics that include us." Chrissie started.  
  
"Shut up, Chrissie." Fred said, but there was a smile on her face.  
  
Something had changed in Kelly's face; it was no longer harsh and proud, there was that look of plain and simple madness back where it belonged.  
  
Kelly smiled. She raised an eyebrow at Chrissie and squeezed a smile from her too.  
  
"Will you at least talk a while then before you go?"  
  
Kelly paused. This smelled distinctly like something psychological Chrissie and Fred were trying to do, but she'd give them the benefit of doubt.  
  
"Just for a few minutes."  
  
***  
  
"So where did you 'land' then?"  
  
Kelly said as they all sat around the campfire. Kelly sat on the far side with Duin-Shiel directly across from her, noticeably as far away as possible. Fred and Chrissie sat on either side of him to prevent him for doing anything rash.  
  
"Trollshaw Forest." Chrissie said.  
  
"Ooh, that close to Frodo. I bet you enjoyed that didn't you." Chrissie was so happy that Kelly didn't seem to be planning to kill Frodo anymore that she couldn't even think up something sarcastic to say.  
  
"Mirkwood." Fred said, shuddering at the thought of the spiders.  
  
"But you haven't even read the Hobbit."  
  
"I know that's so unfair isn't it. So where did you start? With your luck is was probably somewhere wonderful."  
  
"Mordor." Kelly said, grinning like a fool.  
  
Chrissie and Fred burst out laughing and even Duin-Shiel couldn't help but grin. 


	24. CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR : EPILOGUE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - EPILOGUE  
After they'd retold all their stories and grew quiet, Kelly felt almost reluctant to leave them.  
  
"Why don't you stay Kelly?" Fred stood up to follow her as Kelly turned to leave.  
  
As Fred placed her hand on Kelly's sleeve, it rolled up a few inches to reveal several large scars, twisting around her arm. Fred gasped as Kelly hastily pulled her sleeve down again.  
  
"What happened Kelly? What." Fred said quickly as Kelly stepped back.  
  
"Please don't ask. I don't want to talk about it." Kelly twisted her head and looked away, the faint signs of tears showing in her eyes.  
  
"Streaming." Duin-Shiel murmured quietly as Kelly turned to look at him.  
  
"I don't want your pity, Elf." Kelly spat out harshly, rather more so than she'd wanted to. Looking back to Chrissie and Fred she said, "If you really want details, ask your Elf." She turned to leave again.  
  
"Kelly, stay please. Now more than ever, you don't have to go back to them if this is what they did to you."  
  
"I." Kelly spun on her heel and instantly had her daggers in her hands, all emotions and thoughts forgotten.  
  
"The Elves are here." Duin-Shiel said out into the night, as the sound of hooves drew close.  
  
She ran over to Chrissie and Fred and pulled them close.  
  
"I'm sorry for spilling on the fellowship and I want to help you save them. Always presume they know everything. You can't stop them gathering at Moria by yourselves. Your hope lies with Faramir in Minas Tirith. Get there as quick as you can and see if you can bring a squad back to Moria. Don't bring Faramir though, and no more than one squad. Remember the future."  
  
Kelly frantically untied the reins of Duin-Shiel's horse and mounted.  
  
"What about you?" Chrissie shouted after her.  
  
"I'll meet you there in a few days. Good hunting to you!"  
  
With a quick word to her horse, she galloped into the darkness.  
  
Bare minutes later a band of Elves appeared, riding recklessly through the night on white stallions, their golden hair reflecting the moonlight.  
  
Chrissie stared up at them, mesmerised by their sheer brilliance. They shouted something at Duin-Shiel and he gave a hasty response. The one that seemed to be the leader dismounted and walked towards him. He took one of Duin-Shiel's hands in his and continued talking in increasing intensity.  
  
Duin-Shiel finally broke and pointed in the direction Kelly had gone. Chrissie shot him a deadly glance.  
  
After the riders had disappeared, they moved from their frozen tableau.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell them where she went but he told me how Laneth was killed. It was no simple death of convenience. Whoever Kelly may claim to be or how much you think she's still the same person, she killed that Elf in cold blood without remorse."  
  
Chrissie turned to Fred. The Kelly they'd spoken to just now was just the same as ever and besides she was their only hope for saving Frodo.  
  
Fred and Chrissie looked at each other and were instantly decided. If Frodo's life was at stake and there was hope for him in Minas Tirith, that is where they would go.  
  
"What about Kelly?" Duin-Shiel said quietly, still feeling slightly guilty about turning her in. He wondered exactly what she'd said to them.  
  
"If I know her, I'd say she's already half way to Minas Tirith." Fred said grinning. "Speaking of which, we'd better get going."  
  
***  
  
This is the end of Accidental Transportation, but if you're still interested look out for a sequel coming sometime next week.  
  
The ultimate betrayal and the greatest sacrifice  
  
Meetings and partings, reunions and tiffs  
  
Love and Hate, peace and war  
  
They are only four and the evil great.  
  
One will consort with the enemy, one will dance with the enemy  
  
One will die for redemption, one will die for love  
  
Many will die, but a few will survive.  
  
Notice I didn't say, if the four would be them  
  
Until next time,  
  
Forest Elfin. (Hope my pathetic attempt at a teaser amuses you!)  
  
***  
  
tbiris: Yes there is more person to meet and they'll be introduced in the first chapter of the sequel, should I think it's in demand with reviewers.  
  
Wizardess Gal: I made you cry.I'm sorry, well I suppose I should be flattered, so thanks too. I think you should probably tie up one of your inner voices if they get too loud, I know I do!  
  
Kat Heiman: Well, I'll see how many others want a sequel too, although the puppy eyes will be taken into account.  
  
Chrissie: Compliments from you are compliments indeed. You are extremely hard to please.  
  
Hobbit-Eyes: Maybe.  
  
Hobbit-Eyes: The answer is still maybe, but I'm being more convinced with every review.  
  
Millybob: As much as Fred loves hitting things with rocks, I don't think she'd actually want to knock me out whilst I was sleeping, in case I woke up and throttled her at the wrong moment. Hence you were elected to the task. You'll do whatever I want, indeed, that is promising and very enticing.  
  
I'd just like to thank everyone who reviewed!! You're (mostly) all stars!!! 


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